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

Joshua McLemore died after spending 20 days in a padded jail cell in Indiana without jailers doing anything to help the man who suffered from schizophrenia and intervened after it was too late, a lawsuit alleges. (Photos courtesy of the attorney for McLemore’s estate)

Joshua McLemore died after spending 20 days in a padded jail cell in Indiana without jailers doing anything to help the man who suffered from schizophrenia and intervened after it was too late, a lawsuit alleges. (Photos courtesy of the attorney for McLemore’s estate)

A county in Indiana has paid $7.25 million to the estate of a jail inmate with schizophrenia who died after being locked alone, naked, dehydrated, and malnourished in a filthy padded jail cell for nearly three weeks while jailers watched him decline and only intervened after it was too late.

Lawyers for Joshua McLemore, 29, said the settlement by Jackson County is believed to be the biggest payout for a jailhouse death in Indiana.

“The size of the settlement reflects the egregiousness of the jail’s mistreatment of Josh,” said Ed Budge, an attorney for McLemore’s estate, in a statement emailed to Law&Crime. “The video we obtained shows a young man in severe mental and physical distress, with no ability to care for himself, being ignored by the people responsible for his safety and well-being. The video reveals a level of indifference and inhumanity that should never be tolerated in a modern jail.”

Melita Ladner, McLemore’s aunt and only surviving close relative following the death of his mother in December 2022, said in a statement through the lawyers: “More than anything, I want this to be a wake-up call to Jackson County and every other jail. That was also the goal of Josh’s late mother, Rhonda McLemore. No other person should be made to suffer as Josh did, and I hope other families will be spared from similar pain.”

An attorney for Jackson County did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Law&Crime.

As Law&Crime previously reported, McLemore died on Aug. 10, 2021, after spending 20 days in “Padded Cell 7” at Indiana’s Jackson County Jail, the complaint said. He died after his arrest for pulling a nurse’s hair at a medical center emergency room during an “acute mental health crisis,” according to the lawsuit.

Attorneys said the jail had no mental health staff, and the nurse who worked there three or four days a week barely interacted with him and ignored the obvious risks of his condition. Litigation continues against the contractor, Advanced Correctional Healthcare, Inc., a private firm that runs health care at the facility.

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