When someone dies in a Missouri jail or prison, families are often told very little. The official account may be a sentence or two, the records are held by the facility, and the questions pile up faster than the answers. This guide explains what families can do, what the law requires of the people running jails and prisons, and why the first weeks matter.
For injuries and abuse in custody more generally, see our jail and prison abuse page, or our civil rights practice overview.
What the law requires
What duty does a jail or prison owe the people inside?
Once the government locks someone up, that person cannot get their own medical care or protect themselves. The Constitution puts that responsibility on the officials holding them.
Medical care
In Estelle v. Gamble (1976), the U.S. Supreme Court held that deliberate indifference to a prisoner’s serious medical needs violates the Constitution. That includes ignoring symptoms, delaying care, or refusing to send someone to a hospital.
Protection from known dangers
Under Farmer v. Brennan (1994), officials who know of a substantial risk of serious harm and disregard it can be liable. That can include a known suicide risk or a known threat from another person in custody.
People awaiting trial
Many people who die in county jails have not been convicted of anything. Their rights come from the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause rather than the Eighth Amendment, and they are at least as strong.
Force
Force used by jail or prison staff must be justified. Restraint and use-of-force deaths are examined under the constitutional limits that apply to the person’s status. For force during an arrest, see police misconduct and excessive force.
For medical neglect that has not ended in death, see jail and prison medical neglect in Missouri.
Deliberate indifference is a high bar. Negligence or a bad medical judgment is not enough on its own under federal law. The question is whether officials knew of a serious risk and disregarded it.
What these cases look like
How do people die in jail or prison when it could have been prevented?
Every case is different, but certain patterns recur.
- Untreated withdrawal. Alcohol and drug withdrawal can be fatal without medical monitoring, and it often begins within days of booking.
- Suicide after warning signs. Deaths after a person’s risk was known, from statements, prior attempts, screening answers, or family warnings, but they were not monitored or protected.
- Ignored medical conditions. Diabetes, infections, heart symptoms, or other conditions that staff were told about or could see, and did not treat or escalate.
- Restraint and force. Deaths during or after restraint, chokeholds, or other force by staff.
- Violence that was foreseeable. Assaults by others in custody after a specific, known threat was ignored.
- Overdose inside the facility. Particularly where signs of overdose were visible and help was slow or never came.
The first weeks
What should a family do after a death in custody?
Most of the evidence is controlled by the facility, and some of it, especially video, is not kept indefinitely.
- Talk to a lawyer early. A lawyer can send a written demand that the facility preserve video, logs, and records before routine deletion.
- Ask about the autopsy. Find out whether one was performed, by whom, and how to get the report. In some cases a family chooses an independent autopsy.
- Keep everything from your loved one. Letters, jail messages, call records, and anything they said about how they were feeling or being treated.
- Write down what you were told, by whom, and when, including any calls you made to the facility about their health before the death.
- Gather names. Others who were in custody at the same time, and anyone released since, may have seen what happened.
- Be careful what you sign. Do not sign releases or agreements from the facility or its insurer without advice.
Who can sue, and whom
Who can bring a claim when someone dies in custody?
In Missouri, the wrongful death statute, RSMo 537.080, sets out who may bring a claim for a death, and it generally governs death claims brought under federal civil rights law as well.
First: spouse, children, or parents
The spouse, children (or the descendants of a deceased child), or the parents of the person who died.
Then: brothers and sisters
If there is no one in the first group, the siblings of the person who died, or their descendants.
Otherwise: a plaintiff ad litem
If there is no one in either group, the court can appoint a plaintiff ad litem to bring the action on behalf of those entitled to share in it.
The estate
Some claims, such as the person’s own pain and suffering before death, may belong to the estate, which can require opening a probate estate. How the claims are structured is worth getting right from the start.
Who can be held responsible depends on the facts. Individual officers, nurses, and doctors can be liable. So can the county or the agency when its own policies, customs, or training caused the death. Many Missouri jails and prisons contract out medical care to private companies, and a private company providing that care can also be sued under federal civil rights law.
Building the case
How do you find out what really happened?
The official account is where the investigation starts, not where it ends.
Video and logs
Cell and hallway video, and the check logs that show whether staff made the rounds they were required to make, and when.
Medical records
Intake screening, sick-call requests, nursing notes, and medication records, which show what was known and when.
Grievances and requests
Written requests for help that your loved one filed can show that officials were on notice of the danger.
Policies and history
Staffing levels, contracts with medical providers, training, and prior deaths or complaints at the same facility, which matter for any claim against the county or company.
Answers
Questions families ask us
Can you sue a jail if someone dies in custody in Missouri?
Yes, in the right circumstances. Claims are generally brought under 42 U.S.C. §1983 against the officials responsible, and in some cases against the county, the agency, or a private medical contractor. Missouri state-law claims may also be available.
How long does a family have to file?
It depends on the claims involved, and death cases can carry different deadlines than injury cases. Notice requirements can also apply to some claims against public entities. Because the deadline question has more than one answer, and because evidence disappears much sooner than any deadline, a death case should be evaluated right away.
The jail says it was natural causes. Can we still look into it?
Yes. A death can be medically natural and still preventable. Many custody deaths involve conditions that are treatable with timely care. The question is whether staff knew or were told something was wrong and failed to act.
Is medical negligence in a jail enough for a lawsuit?
Not on its own under federal civil rights law, which requires deliberate indifference: knowing about a serious risk and disregarding it. Negligence can sometimes support a state-law claim instead, and the two are often evaluated together.
My family member had not been convicted. Does that matter?
It changes which constitutional provision applies. People held before trial are protected by the Fourteenth Amendment rather than the Eighth. Their right to medical care and safety is no weaker.
What does it cost to talk to you?
Civil rights cases like these are handled on a contingency fee, meaning attorney fees come from any recovery. We will explain the terms before you decide anything.
Talk to us
You are entitled to answers.
If someone you love died in a Missouri jail or prison, reach out. We will listen, tell you honestly what we see, and move quickly to preserve what can still be preserved.
Attorney advertising. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements. This article is general information, not legal advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. Deadlines and the claims available depend on the facts of each case.
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