Bibb County inmate’s cries for help went ignored, lawsuit says. He later died by suicide
An inmate’s “cries for help were ignored” by jail staff and he later died by suicide, and they are now being sued, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Bibb County Superior Court.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by Marlena Henderson, the guardian of Troyce Billinglea’s two young daughters, blames Bibb County Jail staff for Billingslea’s death in September 2023.
Billingslea was being held at the jail prior to his trial. He faced charges of a probation violation, gun possession, aggravated assault and murder, according to records obtained by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
The lawsuit alleges he openly expressed suicidal ideation, which concerned other inmates.
One inmate witnessed Billingslea express suicidal ideation and reported it to Kendra Orange, a nurse for CorrectHealth working at the jail. Orange visited his cell and asked if he was suicidal. She wrote a report after talking to Billingslea, reporting that he said “he was fine” and wanted “to get out of his cell.” She then left, according to the report referenced in the lawsuit.
But the following day, on Sept. 3, 2023, inmates found Billingslea had died by suicide. They were screaming at detention officer Harold Franklin, one of the deputies in the lawsuit, to get his attention. Franklin grabbed a medical bag and ran to Billingslea’s cell, according to the lawsuit. Inside, Franklin needed the help of another inmate to remove Billingslea’s body and begin chest compressions, but the detention officer never found a pulse, according to an internal affairs report referenced in the lawsuit.
Jail staff performed cell checks between 8:20 a.m. and 9:11 a.m., but Billingslea was found dead at 12:23 p.m., according to the lawsuit.
He left behind a note with a phone number, instructing the reader to call the number and “tell her everything that happened and tell her that I’m sorry but it was all just too much for me.”
“Tell her to also apologize to my babies for me and tell them I love them so much,” the note continued. “Let her know I tried to go to suicide watch earlier today.”
Henderson filed the lawsuit against 10 people and organizations:
- CorrectHealth, which operates the infirmary at the jail
- Kendra Orange (nurse)
- Harold Franklin (detention officer)
- Brannon Grace (detention officer)
- Jorge Morera (detention officer)
- Michael Rhodes (detention officer)
- Terralyn Taylor (detention officer)
- Eric Woodford (jail captain)
- David Davis (sheriff)
Orange is being sued for negligence, with CorrectHealth being “vicariously liable for the negligent acts ... of all persons or entitled under their control,” the lawsuit states. The detention officers are accused of failing to follow policy that prevent inmates from committing suicide. Woodford and Davis are accused of failing to train jail staff on these procedure and uphold them.
Franklin is the only person mentioned in this lawsuit who no longer works for the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, Lt. Linda Howard confirmed. The rest of the staff still work at the sheriff’s office.
“Despite his repeated expressions of suicidal ideation, witnessed by inmates and reported to staff, those responsible for his safety failed him at every turn,” the lawsuit says. “The medical professional dismissed his vulnerability, the jailers neglected their duty to check on him and the leadership allowed the jail to remain dangerously understaffed.”
Henderson is asking for a jury trial and to recover $10,000 from the defendants in this case.
Henderson is represented by Michael Hill, the same attorney working on another lawsuit against the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office after inmate Carlos Shelley allegedly was killed while on suicide watch.
“The specifics of this lawsuit will be addressed at the appropriate time by legal counsel during the court proceedings,” the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office told The Telegraph.
BSO’s policies on inmates on suicide watch
The lawsuit says that when Billingslea died, there was a policy requiring jail staff to supervise inmates on a regular basis, checking on them at least every 30 minutes. Jail staff also were supposed to keep suicidal inmates from being isolated, instead keeping them in general population so they were close to staff and constantly observed.
“Constant observation is reserved for the detainee who is actively suicidal, either be threatening or engaging in the act of suicide,” the policy referenced in the lawsuit states. “This detainee should be observed by a staff member on a continuous, uninterrupted basis.”
And lastly, there was another policy active that required jail staff to “not rely solely on closed circuit television to supervise inmates.”
“Inmates who are suicidal, assaultive, escape risks, mentally/emotionally disordered or recovering from intoxicants shall receive in-person surveillance every 15 minutes,” the policy referenced in the lawsuit states.
Both of these policies “created a ministerial duty for the detention officers at the Bibb County Jail,” which the lawsuit argued that the detention officers failed to do.
Understaffing contributed to problem, lawsuit says
Two years before Billingslea’s death, a Bibb County grand jury questioned why the jail was understaffed and recommended pay increases and incentives toward a possible solution, the lawsuit says.
An example to contribute to this is how four inmates escaped the Bibb County Jail where “there were less than 10 jail personnel on duty for over 800 detainees/inmates,” the lawsuit argued. The other is based on an inmate’s alleged murder while on suicide watch. Sgt. Glen Wilkes of the sheriff’s office had written a letter to the sheriff’s office, stating “staffing has been an ongoing major issue in this jail.”
Wilkes had addressed his concerns multiple times with Woodford, “to no avail,” the letter referenced in the lawsuit said. Further, Wilkes said that inmates are “not supervised every 15 minutes to an hour per policy states because we do not have the staffing to do so.”
