Jennifer DeGraw
Jennifer DeGraw, 50, died of a heart attack in her cell at the Pinellas County Jail in Clearwater in 2009, after a psychotic episode. Jail staff were accused of failing to make sure she took her medication and had enough to eat and drink. A federal jury later found officials were deliberately indifferent to her medical needs, and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office paid her estate $1.15 million.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The federal jury found jail officials were deliberately indifferent to her medical needs, and her estate's lawsuit says staff failed to make sure she took her medication and ate and drank enough after a psychotic episode, before she died of a heart attack in her cell.
Reported by: federal jury; her estate's lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: Her estate sued and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office paid $1.15 million after a federal jury found officials deliberately indifferent to her medical needs.