Juan Quintana II
Juan Quintana II was 15, and his family and friends remember him as a sweet, sensitive and caring person with a great sense of humor who loved riding BMX bikes. He struggled with depression and anxiety and had difficulty sleeping. He died by suicide at the Spectrum Juvenile Justice Services detention center in Highland Park, Michigan, after being held there for less than three weeks. A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit panel wrote that his body was found 45 minutes after staff last checked on him, which the court called a fatal omission. His father's lawsuit against Spectrum can proceed after the panel ruled the private company can be held accountable under federal rights law, and the case returns to district court.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (neglect alleged). Quintana's family says in their lawsuit that staff at the Spectrum juvenile detention center failed to check on him, and the Sixth Circuit panel called the 45-minute gap between checks a fatal omission.
Reported by: Quintana's family and their lawsuit (family or their lawyers); U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (court); state investigation.
Lawsuit: His father sued Spectrum Juvenile Justice Services, and a federal appeals court ruled the private company can be held accountable under federal rights law, sending the case back to district court.