The Jackson County Jail has settled a lawsuit with the estate of an inmate who died there in 2021.
Joshua McLemore was taken to the jail on the morning of July 20, 2021, after being arrested for pulling a nurse’s hair while being evaluated for a mental health episode at the local hospital.
McLemore, who had a history of mental illness, spent the next 20 days in solitary confinement, rarely eating, drinking or sleeping and can be seen on security footage having verbal outbursts, according to court documents. During that period, he lost 45 pounds, and by the time he was transported to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, he was too frail to lift his own body.
Two days later, McLemore died at Mercy West Hospital in Cincinnati.
The estate of McLemore filed a federal lawsuit in April, accusing the jail of failing to provide adequate treatment while McLemore was in custody.
But, according to a motion filed with the U.S. District Court for the Southern Indiana District, the two parties recently settled.
Edwin Budge, one of the attorneys representing the estate, said he was unable to comment.
Cases against Advanced Correctional Healthcare, Inc., a private company that provides healthcare services for jails nationwide, and Dr. Ronald Evanson, the jail’s physician, remain unsettled. The judge extended the deadline for the parties to reach an agreement from Sept. 12 to Nov. 13.
McLemore was one of two inmates to die while in custody at the Jackson County Jail in July 2021. Ta’Neasha Chappell died on July 16 after falling ill while in custody. Chappell’s family also filed suit against the jail, but that case remains unsettled.
The jail was cleared of wrongdoing in both deaths by internal and Indiana State Police investigations.
