Jerry Gage
Jerry Gage, 78, lived at a nursing home where he received treatment for disabilities and mental health conditions. According to Oklahoma Watch, he was beaten by his cellmate at the Pottawatomie County Public Safety Center in Shawnee, Oklahoma, in 2022, and jailers did not learn of the attack until the cellmate alerted them by intercom. He was taken to a hospital, where a county judge released him from detention at the jail's request while he was unconscious, and he died there. A medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. His son, Russell Gage, and family attorney Ron Kelly say the release request should have been denied, and the family's federal lawsuit is pending.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (disputed; neglect alleged). The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide from a beating by his cellmate, and his family's federal lawsuit says jailers did not notice him until the cellmate pointed him out, and that the jail had a judge release him from detention while he lay unconscious, a request his family's attorney says should have been denied.
Reported by: medical examiner's report (medical examiner or coroner); Gage family, in federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His family filed a federal lawsuit over his death in the Pottawatomie County jail, and the case is pending.