Where do wrongful death lawsuits against the jail stand?
Several families of late inmates have filed federal wrongful death lawsuits against Bonner and other jail leadership, as well as county government since at least 2022. (Courtesy Shelby County Sheriff’s Office file)
As conditions at the Shelby County Jail continue to come under scrutiny, a number of notable — and in some cases long-standing — lawsuits are pending against Shelby County government and jail leadership.
One local defense attorney recently told The Daily Memphian he’s never seen conditions at the jail, also known as 201 Poplar, quite as bad as they currently are. In addition to a host of deferred maintenance issues, booking and processing just to get fully admitted into the jail took an average of three days in June, leaving would-be inmates in limbo.
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Subscriber Only Shelby County Jail Blake Ballin Gershun Freeman Marcus Donald Deion Byrd Ramon McGheeThank you for reading The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
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Aarron Fleming
Once an intern, he never left, joining the staff full-time in 2022 as an education reporter. He moved to public safety in 2023, where he covered some of the city’s biggest court cases, including the criminal trials for those charged in the deaths of Tyré Nichols and rapper Young Dolph. He also chronicled the Shelby County Jail and the deaths that have occurred at the facility.
He now provides suburban coverage, focusing on Desoto County and the surrounding municipalities.
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