Butts County jail inmate died by suicide after getting death threats. His family is suing

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An inmate at the Butts County jail allegedly died by suicide after others threatened to kill him when he testified against another inmate in court, and now his family is suing the jail over it, according to court documents filed Thursday.

The lawsuit alleges Leon Scott, the man who died, repeatedly warned jail staff that he was in danger because he testified against other inmates, but they didn’t provide the necessary care to keep him safe.

The lawsuit, filed by Scott’s mother Jacqueline Redmond and former partner Jennifer Thomas, alleges jailers Anthony Dupree, Christian Turner and Terry Smith failed to protect Scott and deprived him of his rights. It also alleges Chief Jail Administrator Joseph Southerland, Butts County Sheriff Gary Long and Sgt. Francis, whose first name is not yet known, were negligent in the way they handled Scott’s warnings and his death. All six of them are being sued in federal court.

“It is common knowledge among law enforcement officers and jail personnel, including Defendants, that inmates who testify against co-defendants in criminal cases are subject to violence from other inmates,” an attorney for the two plaintiffs said in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit represents one side of a legal argument. The accused have not filed a legal reply, and no actions have been taken in court regarding the accusation. The Butts County Sheriff’s Office didn’t respond to questions about the incident prior to publication.

Scott testified in August 2021 against a co-defendant in a criminal case that had six suspects, according to the lawsuit. The defendant who Scott testified against was convicted of violent offenses, and Scott took a plea deal in the case. He was awaiting sentencing at the time of his death.

The lawsuit lays out a timeline of repeated concerns raised by Scott, who in April 2022 began asking jail staff to move him to a new cell because he thought his life was in danger after he testified against another suspect, according to the lawsuit. He also flooded his cell to encourage them to move him out, but he was sent to a medical hall for observation instead.

He was returned to the same cell block after, according to the lawsuit.

In May 2022, Scott again warned jail personnel that he needed to be moved because he was receiving death threats. A day later, Dupree and Smith found Scott dead, hanging with a bed sheet around his neck and socks tying his hands together.

Redmond and Thomas argued in their lawsuit that the jail personnel who knew Scott was being threatened did not follow standard operating procedure, which required them to report the threats to their supervisors, Long and Southerland, and investigate those threats. The procedure also requires them to move an inmate who could be targeted, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also alleges Long and Southerland were required by Georgia regulation to be responsible for the care, secure detention and control of the inmates in the facility. They allege that Long failed to implement the policy that required violent threats to be reported and investigated.

They also allege Southerland failed to supervise jail staff to ensure they reported and investigated the incident.

The complaint said Long and Southerland would house pretrial detainees and inmates in the same or adjacent cell block. They would often put co-defendants together in the same cell block as well.

Redmond and Thomas are seeking a jury trial in this case, and they want to be awarded financial damages, attorneys’ fees and any other relief the court finds appropriate.