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Jamycheal Mitchell's family reaches $3M settlement in death

Jamycheal Mitchell's family agreed to a $3 million settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit against Hampton Roads Regional Jail.

NORFOLK, Va. — The family of Jamycheal Mitchell has agreed to a $3 million settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit against Hampton Roads Regional Jail, according to documents.

Mitchell, 24, was jailed for allegedly stealing about $5 worth of food from a convenience store in April 2015. He spent four months behind bars before jail staff found him dead in his cell on August 19, 2015.

Medical provider NaphCare, and the state were also defendants named in the lawsuit.

The defendants in the lawsuit do not admit to "any liability" as part of the settlement, according to documents.

Case 2:16-cv-00229-RBS-LRL Document 261 Filed 01/18/19 Page 2 of 12 PageID# 3957 Case 2:16-cv-00229-RBS-LRL Document 261 Filed 01/18/19 Page 3 of 12 PageID# 3958 Case 2:16-cv-00229-RBS-LRL Document 261 Filed 01/18/19 Page 4 of 12 PageID# 3959 Case 2:16-cv-00229-RBS-LRL Document 261 Filed 01/18/19 Page 5 of 12 PageID# 3960 Case 2:16-cv-00229-RBS-LRL
s/ _____ William W. Tunner (VSB No.: 38358) ThompsonMcMullan, P.C. 100 Shockoe Slip, Third Floor Richmond, Virginia 23219 Telephone: (804) 698-6251 Fax: (804) 780-1813 wtunner@t-mlaw.com Counsel for Defendants Dale Barnes, Stephano Blakely, Sylvester Bourne, Derrick Brown, Doncosta Butcher, Curtis Dixon, William A. Epperson, Robert Whitaker, Steven W.

Three months before his death, a judge had ordered Mitchell be transferred to a state mental hospital, but Mitchell remained locked up. 

State investigators say Mitchell's name wasn't on a waiting list for a bed at the state hospital, despite even a second order from the judge in July 2015.

A medical examiner concluded Mitchell died of a heart condition, accompanied by a large loss of weight.

The Department of Justice completed an investigation that started in December 2016 into the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth, and it concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe that the jail failed to provide constitutionally adequate medical and mental health care to prisoners.

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