Lanekia Brown
Lanekia Brown, 37, was a mother of two sons who had been trying for a child and wrote excitedly to her boyfriend when she learned she was pregnant. She was held at the Madison County Detention Center in Mississippi in late 2018, and in the weeks before her death she reported bleeding and pelvic pain and asked to be taken to a hospital. She was found unresponsive on December 23, 2018, and the medical examiner's office attributed her death to internal bleeding from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Her mother, Margaret Johnson, sued, alleging that jail staff and contracted medical providers ignored her pleas for care, and the family later settled; the claims about the response were never adjudicated.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (neglect alleged). The medical examiner ruled she died of internal bleeding from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy; her family's lawsuit says jail staff ignored her pleas to go to a hospital and left her without emergency care.
Reported by: Madison County Deputy Coroner Joel Shows (death certificate) (medical examiner or coroner); Margaret Johnson, her mother, in a lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: Her mother, Margaret Johnson, sued in May 2021, alleging that jail staff and contracted medical providers ignored Lanekia Brown's complaints of abdominal pain, and the family later settled.
News reports (8)
- News report
- A pregnant woman who complained of stomach pains dies in Mississippi jail
- Pregnant Woman Complaining Of Stomach Pains Dies In Jail While Awaiting Trial
- After Death in Madison Jail, Family Files Lawsuit Against County
- Mother Died in Madison County Jail After Pot Arrest, Family Sues for Negligence
- 'Why won't you help me?' Pregnant women and their babies are dying in jail
- Pregnancy Behind Bars Proves Deadly for Women and Their Babies