MACON, Ga. — A Macon family is suing the Bibb County Sheriff's Office for $5 million over the death of a family member in the Bibb County jail, according to a lawsuit filed in Bibb Superior Court last week.
Carlos Shelley was in custody on a shoplifting charge, but he would never get the chance to walk out a free man. Instead, the attorney for Shelley's children are suing, claiming the sheriff's office failed to prevent his strangulation at the hands of his cellmate.
"Mr. Shelley was under a suicide watch when his cellmate, Joseph Anthony Moore, strangled him to death," the family's attorney wrote. "At the time of the strangulation, the other inmates in the Old Infirmary repeatedly called for assistance from the corrections officers. Tragically, the corrections officers did not respond."
That night, Moore and Shelley got into a disagreement. Over the span of 10 to 15 minutes, Moore is accused of strangling Shelley to death as his other cellmate watched, the lawsuit says.
An inmate in the cell next door heard Shelley "gasping for air." As Moore allegedly strangled him, the inmate next to them heard him say this: "Tell my grandmother I love her."
But the lawsuit — which was filed against the Bibb County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff David Davis and eight sheriff's office employees — argues had the sheriff's office followed its own protocol, Shelley would be alive today.
"The Plaintiff brings this lawsuit to recover for the tragic, preventable and wrongful death of their father, Carlos Shelley," the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit fits into a pattern of concerns that have plagued the Bibb County jail in recent months: understaffing, lack of oversight from jail guards and failure of the jail staff to follow policy. Those same issues culminated in the escape of four inmates back in October, Sheriff David Davis said at the time, leading to a month-long manhunt.
"David Davis subjectively and objectively knew the Bibb County Jail was chronically understaffed, subjecting detainees to a substantial risk of serious harm..... [and] a substantial risk of violence at the hands of other inmates," the lawsuit reads.
The attorney points to numerous failures they say contributed to Shelley's death. The Old Infirmary where Shelley was held had previously been condemned, there was no jail or medical staff posted in the Old Infirmary and there was no way for inmates to alert guards in the case of an emergency.
"Effectively, these detainees were left to fend for themselves," the lawsuit reads.
Under the jail's own policies, they were required to have an officer "posted in the infirmary when an inmate is to be housed... for medical or mental health reasons." They say that policy was not followed.
The lawsuit says the fight between Moore and Shelley took place between 6:45 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. At 7:15 p.m., a guard came by the cell but he could only see Shelley's leg. They say he never checked on Shelley.
Then, nearly an 1.5 hours later, another guard checked on Shelley. They found him sitting on the floor, "unconscious and not breathing."
"Tragically, it was too late, and Mr. Shelley was pronounced dead," the lawsuit says.
But according to the jail's own policy, while inmates in the general population are supposed to be checked every hour, inmates in suicide watch are supposed to be checked on every 15 minutes. They say that policy was not followed.
Furthermore, the jail major instructed Shelley to be removed from the Old Infirmary prior to his death and moved into the infirmary, but they never moved him, the lawsuit says.
For this and many other reasons, the family is asking for $5 million in damages for Shelley's death behind bars.
"As a proximate and foreseeable result of Defendant David Davis' deliberate indifference, Carlos Shelley died," the lawsuit claims.
A previous U.S. Supreme Court case, Farmer v Brennan, determined that since inmates have been "stripped of virtually every means of self-protection," jails have the legal and constitutional obligation to keep inmates safe.
"David Davis continued to allow the Bibb County Jail to be chronically understaffed, thus continually subjecting inmates to acts of violence at the hands of other inmates, as well as resulting in the failure off the jail staff to respond to requests for adequate medical and mental health care from detainees," the lawsuit read.
The sheriff's office did not respond to our request for comment.
Moore was charged with murder and aggravated assault for allegedly strangling Shelley.