You don’t have to watch this video of Joshua McLemore’s final days (do not watch this video before bed). His mother, Rhonda, couldn’t bear to watch it after lawyers told her the contents. She died 16 months later, her family thinks of a broken heart. But his family want people to see it.
I LITERALLY did a story last month about another schizophrenic man who was unmedicated, thrown into solitary, and starved to death after eating nothing but the Styrofoam trays.
Are you finding it is more Sheriffs? I'm working on a piece about the sheriff from my home county who I am going to prove - misused a BEARCAT because a county with six people needs a bearcat. Unchecked.
Do you follow Jessica Pishko's work? She's the main expert on Sherriffs. But yes, a few stories I've done involving Sherriff's offices have no helped increase my faith in the system.
I don’t understand how this man is not brought to a hospital for care and medication. Did they think he was just going to get released at his next court date and walk out into society?
It is completely confounding to me. Like why not let him go to the hospital for your own self-interest so nurses have to bathe him and listen to his screams, not you, an underpaid corrections officer. Like are we THAT wedded to punishment and pain?
No no he pulled a nurse's hair when he was at the hospital. From what I get it wasn't especially violent, it's not like he scalped her. HIS neglect began when he was taken to jail after the incident. I mean, there are restraints and medications for people who are violent because of unmedicated mental illness, it's still a mystery to me that this man ended up in a solitary jail cell.
If you think that the nurse’s only complaint is that her hair was pulled, you aren’t familiar with how journalists work. I’m sure the full nature of her injuries was omitted from the story to better serve the narrative. Why don’t you try to contact her and get the full story?
Dude even if she ended up on life support—which she didn't'— there are better ways to deal with an unmedicated schizophrenic having a psychotic break than shipping them off the a crappy small town jail, even if he's violent. Literally you just shoot him up with a fucking sedative, and give him anti-psychotic medication.
I believe I said that already. Should have been taken to a psych ER instead of jail. I makes me think the nurses injuries were more substantial than reported. Should have been treated either way though. There should be transparency and accountability in this in custody death.
Taking a prisoner to the hospital is a liability and a huge drain on manpower resources. McLemore probably shouldn’t have been arrested to begin with IF the injuries were not significant. The cops (who are police officers) probably were not sure if his psychosis was due to drugs or mental illness. He probably just should have been transferred to a psych ER if there was one available.
Is it? More so than keeping him in solitary? They did call EMTs eventually but he was almost dead then and it was too late. And everyone knew, or should have known, that he was schizophrenic. It's why his mother called for a wellness check. One of these days I need to do a story on family members, especially parents, have no choice but to call the police, and then this shit happens. It must lead to very complex grief. He was her only child. Though obviously I wouldn't want to compound their grief.
They should have brought him as I stated. It is also a liability and drain on manpower resources. Leaving him in solitary is easier and no one else gets hurt AND the wrong thing to do here obviously.
Just a question given your expertise: do you think anyone involved should have been criminally charged? I don't think anyone even got fired, and it's the second gruesome death by neglect at that jail.
I think you would need more facts to make that determination. Who in the corrections system has the authority to make the decision to send prisoners to the hospital? What information did that person have? Did anyone willfully withhold information about prisoner’s condition? What are the internal regulations and controls of the agency and were they grossly violated? Why don’t you do some journalism and contact the Jackson County prosecutors office and the Indiana attorney general for an update on the status of their investigation (if it is still open).
Although it’s probably just easier and you would get more attention if you just made up the parts of the narrative you don’t know and call for immediate arrests.
Yeah most jails are under the juristiction of the Sheriff's office. Most are guards, but guards are just cops who are mad because they don't really have a strong union and so get paid nothing for like the worst job in the world.
Well there were officers involved in the incident, included the Sheriff, who also watched it happen and did nothing. From what I understand it's the other way around in rural places. People pay dues as prison guards before they become cops. You're right tho they headline is a bit misleading. Sorry about that. I was reared in hyperbolic lefty media and so don't know to NOT write a sensationalistic headline.
No, I'm a pretty good reporter. But I'm also a reporter who wants people to read my stories if I've shaved at least a year of my life absorbing other people's trauma. And there's more leeway with blogging. The actual full feature, which can be found here, is more moderately headlined. Also as I mentioned there WERE cops involved and jail guards are called "corrections officers" so, cops.
So corrections officers are cops in your stories? Are court officers also cops? Just trying to get your definitions correct so I can understand your stories.
This is like Walker County, AL -- Anthony Mitchell and others.
I LITERALLY did a story last month about another schizophrenic man who was unmedicated, thrown into solitary, and starved to death after eating nothing but the Styrofoam trays.
Are you finding it is more Sheriffs? I'm working on a piece about the sheriff from my home county who I am going to prove - misused a BEARCAT because a county with six people needs a bearcat. Unchecked.
ahhh the Bearcat.
Do you follow Jessica Pishko's work? She's the main expert on Sherriffs. But yes, a few stories I've done involving Sherriff's offices have no helped increase my faith in the system.
I don’t understand how this man is not brought to a hospital for care and medication. Did they think he was just going to get released at his next court date and walk out into society?
It is completely confounding to me. Like why not let him go to the hospital for your own self-interest so nurses have to bathe him and listen to his screams, not you, an underpaid corrections officer. Like are we THAT wedded to punishment and pain?
Tana
Letting a nurse bath him is how this whole thing started. He assaulted the nurse.
No no he pulled a nurse's hair when he was at the hospital. From what I get it wasn't especially violent, it's not like he scalped her. HIS neglect began when he was taken to jail after the incident. I mean, there are restraints and medications for people who are violent because of unmedicated mental illness, it's still a mystery to me that this man ended up in a solitary jail cell.
If you think that the nurse’s only complaint is that her hair was pulled, you aren’t familiar with how journalists work. I’m sure the full nature of her injuries was omitted from the story to better serve the narrative. Why don’t you try to contact her and get the full story?
Dude even if she ended up on life support—which she didn't'— there are better ways to deal with an unmedicated schizophrenic having a psychotic break than shipping them off the a crappy small town jail, even if he's violent. Literally you just shoot him up with a fucking sedative, and give him anti-psychotic medication.
I believe I said that already. Should have been taken to a psych ER instead of jail. I makes me think the nurses injuries were more substantial than reported. Should have been treated either way though. There should be transparency and accountability in this in custody death.
Taking a prisoner to the hospital is a liability and a huge drain on manpower resources. McLemore probably shouldn’t have been arrested to begin with IF the injuries were not significant. The cops (who are police officers) probably were not sure if his psychosis was due to drugs or mental illness. He probably just should have been transferred to a psych ER if there was one available.
Is it? More so than keeping him in solitary? They did call EMTs eventually but he was almost dead then and it was too late. And everyone knew, or should have known, that he was schizophrenic. It's why his mother called for a wellness check. One of these days I need to do a story on family members, especially parents, have no choice but to call the police, and then this shit happens. It must lead to very complex grief. He was her only child. Though obviously I wouldn't want to compound their grief.
They should have brought him as I stated. It is also a liability and drain on manpower resources. Leaving him in solitary is easier and no one else gets hurt AND the wrong thing to do here obviously.
Just a question given your expertise: do you think anyone involved should have been criminally charged? I don't think anyone even got fired, and it's the second gruesome death by neglect at that jail.
I think you would need more facts to make that determination. Who in the corrections system has the authority to make the decision to send prisoners to the hospital? What information did that person have? Did anyone willfully withhold information about prisoner’s condition? What are the internal regulations and controls of the agency and were they grossly violated? Why don’t you do some journalism and contact the Jackson County prosecutors office and the Indiana attorney general for an update on the status of their investigation (if it is still open).
Although it’s probably just easier and you would get more attention if you just made up the parts of the narrative you don’t know and call for immediate arrests.
Mclemore’s mother didn’t call the police though. She lived in another state I think.
They have cops working in the jails?
Yeah most jails are under the juristiction of the Sheriff's office. Most are guards, but guards are just cops who are mad because they don't really have a strong union and so get paid nothing for like the worst job in the world.
So they are former cops who get forced to be jail guards? Are they still considered cops then?
Well there were officers involved in the incident, included the Sheriff, who also watched it happen and did nothing. From what I understand it's the other way around in rural places. People pay dues as prison guards before they become cops. You're right tho they headline is a bit misleading. Sorry about that. I was reared in hyperbolic lefty media and so don't know to NOT write a sensationalistic headline.
So you are kind of a criminal Justice novelist or short story writer and not an actual reporter. Just like those jail guard are kind of cops.
No, I'm a pretty good reporter. But I'm also a reporter who wants people to read my stories if I've shaved at least a year of my life absorbing other people's trauma. And there's more leeway with blogging. The actual full feature, which can be found here, is more moderately headlined. Also as I mentioned there WERE cops involved and jail guards are called "corrections officers" so, cops.
https://theappeal.org/joshua-mclemore-died-solitary-jackson-county-jail-indiana/?fbclid=IwAR2Pp6ATJ0z0vD1rNv0rKYYLVGbZlz6pQCTCHoNTNpzxP-VtrR2lmYdaTc0
So corrections officers are cops in your stories? Are court officers also cops? Just trying to get your definitions correct so I can understand your stories.
I think that's fair, yes.