Lason Butler

On January 31, 2022, Lason Butler was charged with a misdemeanor failure to stop for a blue light resulting in an automobile accident. At intake at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, Butler appeared to exhibit “some erratic behavior” and was assigned to the Special Housing Unit, even though “housing an inmate with mental health needs there was inappropriate and improper,” according to the lawsuit. Butler’s mental health condition rapidly deteriorated and he appeared disheveled. Butler’s mother had repeatedly tried to contact her son; a corrections officer told her that “all we can do is pray for him.” On February 11, 2022, an assessment noted that he was “lying on the floor nude; not eating or drinking; that his memory was impaired; that he had poor judgement; poor insight; limited interactions, lack of self-care, eating, and sleeping; flat affect.” The next morning, he was found dead. He had “fresh rat bites on his body and his cell had no running water,” according to the lawsuit. An autopsy determined that he had died of dehydration, and that he weighed 215 pounds, down from 257 at arrest.

Family represented by Bakari Sellers, a Columbia-based attorney and former state lawmaker, and attorney Audia Jones of Houston, Texas

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