Charles Maise Knowles
Charles Maise Knowles, a transgender man, was held at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in Maine. His mother, Michelle Knowles, brought a wrongful death lawsuit against the facility and the former corrections commissioner, and his attorney, Matthew Morgan, called his death unnecessary and untimely. He was found hanging from a door in an isolation room on October 29, 2016, and died three days later at Maine Medical Center. The lawsuit says staff did not follow mental health instructions while he was on suicide watch and that the suicide watch policy was inadequate, and his attorney says the cell was not suicide resistant. The Maine Attorney General's Office concluded the death was a suicide with no evidence of bullying or mistreatment, and a state-commissioned review found Long Creek lacked the design and staff to meet young people's mental health needs.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The Maine Attorney General's Office concluded it was a suicide with no evidence of bullying or mistreatment, but his mother Michelle Knowles, through her wrongful death lawsuit, says staff did not follow mental health instructions while he was on suicide watch and that the suicide watch policy was inadequate.
Reported by: Maine Attorney General's Office (outside investigators); Michelle Knowles, his mother, through her wrongful death lawsuit and attorney Matthew Morgan (family or their lawyers); Long Creek Superintendent Jeffrey Merrill (the agency that held him).
Lawsuit: His mother, Michelle Knowles, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Long Creek Youth Development Center and the former Maine corrections commissioner, and no settlement or award amount has been reported.
News reports (4)
- Transgender Teen’s Suicide Raises Concerns About Youth Corrections Center
- Nothing 'suspicious' in transgender teen's death under state care, AG's office says
- Former Teen Inmate Alleges Abusive Conditions At Maine Youth Detention Center In 1990s
- Mother of Maine teen who died by suicide at Long Creek files wrongful death lawsuit