The family of Ramon McGhee, a man who sources told The Commercial Appeal was malnourished and covered in bed bug bites and feces when he died at the Shelby County Jail in early January , has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump, according to a Wednesday press release from Crump’s law firm.
McGhee was found unresponsive in his cell at the jail, commonly referred to as 201 Poplar, on Jan. 10 and was taken to Methodist University Hospital. He died two days later, though a family member said he was brain dead when he arrived at the hospital.
“Ramon’s condition upon arrival at the hospital, infested with insects and covered in bites is truly chilling,” Crump said in the press release. “How long was this negligence and mistreatment going on for his body to be overtaken by lice and bed bugs? One can only imagine the severity of Ramon’s suffering.”
Crump, who is also representing the families of Deion Byrd and Gershun Freeman, two men who also died while in jail custody, also called for a federal investigation of the jail.