Son files suit over mother's death in Wilkinson County jail
On the night of Jan. 27, 2015, Cynthia Elaine Mixon turned herself in at the Wilkinson County jail after learning there was a warrant for her arrest.
The 51-year-old had been accused of selling prescription pills -- oxycodone -- to an undercover cop.
Three days later, she was dead.
Mixon's son, Shaun Brooks, filed a federal lawsuit last month alleging that jail officials wrongfully withheld his mother's prescribed medication, causing her suffering and death.
"The really regrettable aspect of this case is that it was entirely preventable," said E. Gilmore Maxwell, Brooks' McDonough attorney. "It appears that Ms. Mixon's social standing in life was tantamount to a death sentence in jail."
The suit names Wilkinson County, the county's board of commissioners and Deputy Buster King as defendants.
Reached by phone, county attorney DuBose Porter declined comment.
According to the lawsuit:
Brooks contends that King told his mother and her three cellmates that they needed to "detox and dry out."
Before being booked into the jail, Mixon was taking medicine for depression, high blood pressure, seizures and fibromyalgia. One of the pills prescribed was oxycodone.
A family friend took Mixon's prescription drugs to the jail and told King that Mixon needed the pills for her medical conditions.
In the first two days after Mixon's arrest, her condition started to deteriorate. Her cellmates later told authorities that Mixon had become very ill.
On the night of Jan. 29, 2015, Mixon was given an aspirin for fever, and a jail worker said King would be taking her to the doctor the next day.
Mixon's cellmates banged on the bars of the cell before 7 a.m. the next morning, alerting jailers that Mixon was having a seizure. She was unresponsive when an ambulance arrived about 45 minutes later.
Mixon was pronounced dead on arrival at Oconee Regional Medical Center about 8:30 a.m.
An arrest and booking report prepared for Mixon included questions about her medical conditions and needs. No conditions were noted. The form wasn't signed by Mixon or the designated screening deputy.
In an interview after Mixon's death, Wilkinson County Sheriff Richard Chatman said Mixon had filled out a form saying she had high blood pressure and a back injury, according to the lawsuit.
Mixon's doctor wrote an affidavit that accompanies the suit. He said his patient's death was preventable and attributable to untreated opiate withdrawal symptoms.
Brooks is seeking compensation for his mother's pain and suffering, reimbursement for funeral expenses and punitive damages.
To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her on Twitter@awomackmacon.
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This story was originally published April 11, 2016 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Son files suit over mother's death in Wilkinson County jail ."