Terri Beth Mays
Terri Beth Mays, 32, died in November 2021 after about eight days in the Whitley County Detention Center in Williamsburg, Kentucky, where she had told staff she had a seizure disorder when she arrived. Surveillance footage showed her collapsing in her cell, and a guard was said to have found her about 30 minutes later. Her mother, Tammy Webb, sued the jail and its healthcare provider, Southern Health Partners, alleging that Mays was not given her seizure medication and was not properly checked on, and a federal trial over the lawsuit is underway. The Kentucky State Medical Examiner ruled the death an accident, citing dehydration with drug use contributing, while the defense attributes it to gaps in her medication history and drug use.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). The Kentucky State Medical Examiner ruled the death an accident from dehydration with drug use contributing, while Tammy Webb's lawsuit says jail staff and Southern Health Partners withheld her seizure medication and failed to check on her, and the defense attributes the death to her medication history and drug use.
Reported by: Kentucky State Medical Examiner (medical examiner or coroner); Tammy Webb, her mother, through a wrongful death lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: Her mother, Tammy Webb, sued the Whitley County Detention Center and its healthcare provider, Southern Health Partners, over the death, and a federal trial over the lawsuit has begun, with no amount reported.