/Inmate suicide Suit alleges Kemper sheriff, correctional officers ignored mental health issues

Inmate suicide Suit alleges Kemper sheriff, correctional officers ignored mental health issues

The Jailers also failed to acknowledge that Robert Wayne Johnson intended to commit suicide on January 8, 2018, according the complaint filed Monday in federal court by the MacArthur Justice Center at University of Mississippi School of Law for Wayne Johnson’s family. Wayne Johnson committed suicide 14 minutes after being placed in an unmonitored isolation cell. The complaint states that Johnson had had mental health problems in the past and had been admitted to mental health inpatient service on previous occasions. Cliff Johnson, MacArthur director, stated in a press release that “we simply cannot ignore the fact that many people end up in jail due to mental illness and substance abuse arising out of self-medication mental health issues.” “If we continue this wrongheaded practice of locking people up who need to be receiving mental healthcare in an appropriate community-based clinic setting, then counties, local law enforcement officers need to brace ourselves for the lawsuits which will inevitably result,” said Cliff Johnson, MacArthur director. The suit names James Moore, Kemper County Sheriff, and several jail staff including Johnny Crockett as defendants. Moore and the attorney for the board were unable to be reached Wednesday morning. According to the complaint, Wayne Johnson, a Meridian resident was held at the Kemper Neshoba Regional Correctional Facility after failing to pay Meridian Municipal Court’s fines. Moore, who was a Meridian Star resident at the time of Wayne Johnson’s passing, stated to the Meridian Star that the state needed more resources to support inmates with mental illness. “Jail” is not therapy. Moore stated that it was not where they belong. Wayne Johnson was sentenced to two days incarceration and 199 hours community service in November 2017. Wayne Johnson was illegally held in jail for 52 more days before his death at the jail in January 2018. This is because Wayne Johnson’s release dates were not properly monitored by the sheriff’s department. LaToya Johnson, Wayne Johnson’s widow, stated in a statement that “if people take anything away” from his death. If you know anyone suffering from depression or mental stress, please encourage them to seek help. You can help them by being supportive and letting them know that there is nothing wrong with seeking out help.