Joshua McLemore
Joshua McLemore, 29, had schizophrenia, and his family describes him as a devoted friend and a sweet, kind person who enjoyed reading, chess, video games and sports. He was held at the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown, Indiana, for about three weeks in July and August 2021, mostly alone in an isolation cell, after a mental health crisis. He was airlifted to a hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, and died there on August 10, 2021, of multiple organ failure. His estate's federal lawsuit, filed by his aunt Melita Ladner, says jail staff and the medical contractor ignored his condition, left him without mental health care and let him lose about 45 pounds; the county settled for $7.25 million, while the contractor and its employee deny wrongdoing. A prosecutor's report found no single employee committed a crime but said he most likely died from a prolonged lack of attention by jail staff.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). The autopsy lists multiple organ failure from refusal to eat or drink with untreated schizophrenia, while his family's lawsuit says jail staff isolated him for about three weeks, ignored his mental health crisis and withheld care, and the county prosecutor found he most likely died from a prolonged lack of attention by jail staff but declined criminal charges.
Reported by: Hamilton County Coroner (autopsy report) (medical examiner or coroner); Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Chalfant (the agency that held him); Indiana State Police investigation (outside investigators); Melita Ladner, his aunt and estate administrator, in a federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His estate sued Jackson County and its jail staff, and the county settled for $7.25 million in 2023, while claims against the jail's health care contractor and a doctor remained pending.
News reports (32)
- 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
- A year after her death, Ta'Neasha Chappell's family is still looking for answers
- 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
- 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
- Jackson County Jail: Wrongdoing denied 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
- 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
- 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
- Why doesn’t the U.S. government know how many people die in custody?