ACLU Helps Secure Substantial Settlement For Family Of Quadriplegic Left To Die In D.C. Jail

"D.C.'s jail system had a duty to care for Jonathan Magbie's serious medical needs," said Elizabeth Alexander, Director of the ACLU National Prison Project, which, along with lead counsel Donald M. Temple, Edward J. Connor, and Arthur Spitzer, Legal Director of the ACLU of the National Capital Area, filed a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Magbie's mother, Mary Scott, in 2005. "The jail and the Greater Southeast Community Hospital failed to live up to that obligation and it resulted in an agonizing and unnecessary death."

As part of the settlement, correctional officials have agreed to modify a number of policies in order to protect prisoners with severe medical problems and physical disabilities, including modifying the medical screening forms for incoming prisoners and spelling out medical conditions too severe to be treated at the jail's infirmary. Also, prisoners with medical needs that can't be met by correctional staff must be transferred to a facility that can provide an appropriate level of medical care. Scott will also receive an undisclosed amount of money as part of the settlement