Joshua McLemore
Joshua McLemore was 29 and had schizophrenia. His aunt, Melita Ladner, said he was a devoted friend to many, and he liked reading, chess, video games and sports. He was held in a padded isolation cell at the Jackson County Jail in Indiana for about three weeks in July and August 2021, and he was airlifted to a Cincinnati hospital, where he died on August 10, 2021. His estate's federal lawsuit says he lost about 45 pounds, was left largely alone and naked, and received little or no mental health care while his condition worsened. An autopsy listed multiple organ failure linked to not eating or drinking and untreated schizophrenia, and the Jackson County prosecutor found no individual employee committed a crime but said he most likely died from a prolonged lack of attention by jail staff. The county settled the suit for $7.25 million and denies violating his constitutional rights.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). The autopsy lists multiple organ failure from refusing food and water with untreated schizophrenia, while his estate's lawsuit says jail staff left him isolated for weeks without the required monitoring or medical care, and the prosecutor concluded he most likely died from a prolonged lack of attention by jail staff.
Reported by: Hamilton County Coroner autopsy report (medical examiner or coroner); Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Chalfant (outside investigators); Indiana State Police investigation (outside investigators); estate's lawsuit brought by aunt Melita Ladner (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His estate, represented by his aunt Melita Ladner, sued Jackson County and jail staff, and the county settled for $7.25 million in 2023, while the jail's health care contractor settled in March 2024 on undisclosed terms.
Sources (40)
- Naked, tired and hungry: Investigation into inmate death reveals apparent negligence
- Prosecutor: Jackson county inmate’s death result of prolonged lack of attention from jail staff
- Death of another inmate highlights pattern of troubling treatment emerging from Jackson County Jail
- Indiana Jail Let Man With Schizophrenia Starve to Death in Solitary, Lawsuit Alleges
- Lawsuit: Officials ignored inmate for 20 days. Naked and alone, he died.
- Echoing Arkansas Death, Lawsuit Alleges Inmate Starved to Death in Indiana
- Man with schizophrenia was left naked in jail cell for weeks before death, video shows
- He Needed Medical Help. He Ended Up In Jail And Died Weeks Later.
- From Georgia to Indiana, inmates left by jailers to die in deplorable, inhumane conditions
- Man dies after losing 45 pounds in jail over 20 days, lawsuit says. He ‘needed help’
- Federal lawsuit filed in case of man who died after spending 20 days in solitary confinement at Indiana jail
- Man with schizophrenia died after weeks of being malnourished in solitary confinement, lawsuit says
- Sickening video shows man with schizophrenia left naked in jail cell for weeks before he starved to death
- Man with Schizophrenia Died of Malnutrition After Being Left Naked and Alone in Cell for 20 Days: Lawsuit
- Joshua McLemore: A man with schizophrenia died after being kept naked and malnourished in solitary confinement at an Indiana jail for nearly 3 weeks, lawsuit says
- Man with schizophrenia died after being kept naked, malnourished in solitary confinement at an Indiana jail, lawsuit says
- Man with mental health issues dies in solitary confinement; lawsuit filed
- Man With Schizophrenia Died After 20 Days of Solitary Confinement: Suit
- Indiana man with schizophrenia dies of dehydration, malnutrition after 3 weeks in solitary: lawsuit
- Lawsuit: Man died after 20 days in isolation at Jackson Co. jail
- Indiana inmate died after losing 45 lbs. over 20 days of solitary confinement: lawsuit
- A man went to the hospital in a psychotic crisis. Then he starved to death in jail
- Inmate with mental illness dies after 20 days naked, dehydrated, malnourished, alone in filthy padded isolation cell: Lawsuit
- US inmate dies after being 'eaten alive' in prison cell by bugs
- Jackson County Jail: Wrongdoing denied in inmate death
- Jackson County: Lawsuit response filed in inmate death
- Jackson County reaches settlement in case of man who died after spending 20 days in solitary confinement
- Estate of inmate who died in custody, Jackson County Jail settle suit
- Family of inmate with schizophrenia who died after spending 20 days naked, dehydrated and malnourished in filthy padded isolation cell gets $7.25 million settlement
- Jackson County settles with McLemore estate for $7.5 million
- Ind. county pays $7.25M settlement over pretrial detainee’s death
- McLemore case settled for $7.25 million in Jackson County lawsuit
- Jackson County settles $7.25 million lawsuit over inmate who died while in isolation
- Jackson County agrees to $7.25 million settlement in McLemore case, county releases statement
- Family of man who starved to death in Indiana jail awarded $7.25m settlement
- Family settles for $7.25M after man’s ‘disgusting’ death in jail, lawyer says
- Jackson County: Jail contractor settles inmate death case
- Indiana jail workers believed Louisville woman who died in custody was ‘faking it,’ records show
- Why doesn’t the U.S. government know how many people die in custody?