/Pregnant woman who died is the third ‘suspicious’ Madison County jail death this year, lawyer says

Pregnant woman who died is the third ‘suspicious’ Madison County jail death this year, lawyer says

Lanekia Michelle Brown (37), of Grenada, died in December after being taken into custody at the Madison County Detention Center, Canton. According to Madison Police Department, Brown was taken into custody by Madison police after she was pulled over on I-55 and found 103 pounds of marijuana. Margaret Johnson, Brown’s mother, said that Brown was only three to four weeks pregnant when she died. She had no known medical problems. Johnson stated that her daughter died on December 23rd. Brown’s family still awaits preliminary autopsy results from Madison County’s coroner’s. Carlos Moore, a Grenada-based attorney, stated that the family is contemplating an independent autopsy. Moore said that although it is early, the family is doing their due diligence. Brown was charged with controlled substance trafficking. Moore stated that Brown’s bail was set at $1million. Brown died on the same day that a nurse from jail visited her after Brown complained of stomach pains. Johnson, Johnson’s mother, said that they tried CPR several times on Brown, but she still did not get a response. According to the Clarion Ledger, “So he just stated she was gone.” Moore is representing two families who lost their loved ones in the Madison County jail. Moore stated that Larry Thompson’s family took him to St. Dominic in Jackson, after he was beaten by jailers. Thompson was killed on December 1. Harvey Terrill Turner, a man whose name was Harvey Terrill Turner, died in an altercation with corrections officials one day after his arrest. Turner’s mother filed an application to preserve evidence in connection to Turner’s October death. All three cases were not addressed by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office on Friday afternoon. Moore stated that Benjamin Crump, a Florida-based civil rights lawyer who represented Trayvon Martin’s families and Michael Brown’s families, will be helping with the Lanekia Brown case. According to federal data, there were 1,053 deaths in US jails in 2014, which was the most recent available year. 18 people were killed in Mississippi jails in 2014._x000D