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  4. A man with schizophrenia was stripped naked and left in solitary confinement for 20 days where lost nearly 45 pounds before his 'preventable' death, family claims in lawsuit.

A man with schizophrenia was stripped naked and left in solitary confinement for 20 days where lost nearly 45 pounds before his 'preventable' death, family claims in lawsuit.

Lloyd Lee   

A man with schizophrenia was stripped naked and left in solitary confinement for 20 days where lost nearly 45 pounds before his 'preventable' death, family claims in lawsuit.
  • Joshua McLemore, 29, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, was arrested in 2021 after pulling a nurse's hair.
  • Jail staff soon placed McLemore in a "padded isolation cell" for about 20 days, a lawsuit said.

A family is suing Jackson County, Indiana, employees and a contracted healthcare provider, alleging that "indifference" from staff, "unconstitutional" practices, and inadequate services led to the death of Joshua McLemore, a 29-year-old Indiana resident who had a history of mental illness, according to the lawsuit.

McLemore died on August 10, 2021, about two days after he was released from solitary confinement at Jackson County Jail, according to the federal civil lawsuit filed Wednesday. The suit claims he spent about 20 days, naked, in a windowless cell with restricted access to a restroom, and in a "constant state of psychosis" that was left untreated.

During that period, McLemore also exhibited "peculiar behaviors," did not eat a lot of the food he received, and often went without sleep all while "in plain view of the jail staff," the lawsuit said.

McLemore, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia several years prior and received in-patient psychiatric treatment for most of his adult life, did not receive routine intake medical screening when he arrived at the jail, per the suit.

According to the lawsuit, an Indiana State Police detective who reviewed the footage estimated that McLemore slept for 15 hours, total, during all 20 days of his confinement. He weighed 197.8 pounds when he was first placed in jail and lost 45 pounds in less than three weeks, the lawsuit said.

An autopsy provided by his estate's attorneys stated his cause of death was "multiple organ failure due to refusal to eat or drink with altered mental status due to untreated schizophrenia."

A Jackson County prosecutor's report also concluded that McLemore "most likely died due to a prolonged lack of attention by Jackson County Jail staff as a group." However, the prosecutor's office determined no crime was committed and that jail staff did not have the opportunity to continuously observe McLemore's cell because they had "many other duties."

The family is arguing that his death was preventable and McLemore died "because of multiple failures by county staff and supervisors, as well as systemic deficiencies and unconstitutional customs, practices, and conditions at the Jackson County Jail."

Defendants in the suit include county Sheriff Rick Meyer, jail commander Chris Everhart, night-shift Sergeant Scott Ferguson, nurse Milton Edward Rutan, physician Ronald Everson, Jackson County, and Advanced Correctional Healthcare, a private jail healthcare provider.

Spokespersons for the Jackson County Sheriff's Office and Advanced Correctional Healthcare did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jessica Young, president and chief executive of Advanced Correctional Healthcare, told IndyStar: "We take criticisms of the care provided by our team seriously. We are prohibited from disclosing patient information due to federal HIPAA privacy and confidentiality laws."

"Josh McLemore wasn't a criminal. He was mentally ill and in crisis," Hank Balson, a lawyer for McLemore's estate said in a statement to Insider. "He was out of touch with reality and needed help. This is glaringly obvious to anyone who watches the videos of him in his isolation cell. But instead of getting Josh the care he so desperately needed, the Jackson County Sheriff and his staff left Josh alone in his cell, naked, barely sleeping or eating, for almost three weeks as he wasted away in front of their eyes. This is not only unconstitutional, it's immoral."

A history of mental health issues

McLemore lived in an apartment in Seymour, Indiana, about an hour south of Indianapolis, at the time of his arrest, according to the lawsuit.

Per the suit, McLemore's mother or a friend called a building manager on July 20, 2021, to ask to check in on McLemore because he stopped returning calls and text messages.

Since high school, McLemore showed signs of undiagnosed mental illness and problems related to drug use, and he was later diagnosed with schizophrenia, the suit stated.

"Over the years, he received in-patient psychiatric treatment on various occasions and experienced periods of relative stability that allowed him to work and enjoy life," the lawsuit said. "But unfortunately, the mental illness and drug problems returned."

The building manager found McLemore "on the floor of his bedroom, naked, confused, and incoherent," according to the suit. He was submitted to Schneck Medical Center Emergency Department around 1:2o a.m. local time after initial difficulties trying to convince McLemore to get into the ambulance, the suit went on.

"An initial nursing assessment revealed that he lacked comprehension and had impaired memory and rambling speech. The nurse described his mood as hostile, suspicious, anxious, and apprehensive," the lawsuit said.

Hospital records also showed that McLemore had previously been treated "for psychosis and drug use," according to the suit.

About a half hour after McLemore was submitted to the emergency room, a nurse found the 29-year-old out of bed and on the floor. As the nurse approached McLemore and tapped him on his shoulder, McLemore pulled the nurse's hair, the lawsuit said.

"Consistent with the EMT reports describing his aversion to people getting too close, Josh reacted by pulling her hair," the lawsuit stated.

Seymour Police Department was contacted and officers arrested McLemore. McLemore's estate alleged in the suit that standard procedures were not followed since the moment McLemore arrived at Jackson County Jail in the early morning hours of July 20, 2021.

"Jail staff did not perform any of the customary book-in procedures that are standard at virtually all jails upon the arrival of a new detainee," the lawsuit claimed. "They did not take Josh's photograph or fingerprints. They did not conduct an intake medical or mental health screening."

Instead, McLemore was taken to a "padded isolation cell" near the book-in area, known as Padded Cell 7, the lawsuit said. He would remain there for 20 days, hardly eating or sleeping.

Surveillance footage provided in the suit and reviewed by Insider shows McLemore, on the first day he was admitted to jail in July 2021, on his knees, suddenly licking the walls of his cell, and talking to himself.

Surveillance footage of various points of his pre-trial detainment shows McLemore fully unclothed. His cell contained a blanket and a blue mat and was often littered with trash. McLemore was intermittently able to leave his cell in restraint devices only for showers and to allow jail staff to clean his cell.

"The stark, off-white walls and floor were brightly illuminated by overhead fluorescent lights 24 hours a day," the lawsuit said. "There were no windows, except for a small opening in the cell door, which was covered on the outside by a steel flap that prevented Josh from looking out."

A bathroom was attached to his isolation room, but the lawsuit claimed that jail staff kept the door locked "virtually the entire time Josh was there."

On August 8, 2021, 20 days into his admittance to the jail, McLemore did not eat his breakfast and lunch and showed clear signs of weakness, the lawsuit said. Footage of his last day in confinement also showed McLemore lying on his mat and being dragged out by staff for a shower.

"Josh was so severely ill as a result of his confinement at the Jackson County Jail that his needs were beyond the capacity of Schneck's clinical resources," the lawsuit alleged. "As a result, he was airlifted to Mercy West Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio."

McLemore died on August 10, 2021, after being placed on life support.

Throughout the 47-page complaint, lawyers for McLemore's family accuse jail staff of "unreasonable and unnecessary use of force," neglect on the part of medical staff, and a failure by the county to "adopt reasonable policies and procedures" for people with mental health issues. The lawsuit also accuses the defendants of "deliberate indifference."

"Josh's death wasn't the result of a simple error in judgment," Balson said. "Every officer who worked in that jail over the three weeks Josh was there could plainly see that he was not in his right mind and was not able to care for himself. But not a single one knew what to do."

The family is seeking compensation for damages caused by mental, physical, and emotional pain, punitive damages against the defendants, attorneys' fees, and other relief deemed reasonable by the court.



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