Joshua McLemore, a man suffering from severe mental illness, was left for 20 days in the Indiana jail cell where he died of malnutrition. When they took him in, during a psychotic episode, they skipped the booking process and conducted no medical evaluation. A prosecutor determined that he "most likely died due to a prolonged lack of attention" but only to make clear that there would be no charges filed against the officers and staff who killed him.
Disturbing videos, some of which were reviewed by the Guardian, show McLemore as he was left in a small, windowless cell for 20 days straight in Jackson county jail in July and August of 2021. The cell had no bed or bathroom and had fluorescent lights on at all hours.
In the footage, McLemore, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, appears detached from reality, speaking gibberish, rolling in filth and his own waste and becoming clearly emaciated. He received daily meals through a small slot in his jail door, but appears to have rarely eaten them. He had extended human interactions on only four occasions – when guards used intense force and restraint devices to drag him out to clean the cell
The video is in The Guardian's story. It's often said "you can't reform this", but that's a joke. Beyond the blood money paid out by insurance, there's nothing legal anyone can do about it at all.
