Louisville Woman Who Died in Police Custody Had Facial Bruises

Mother, 23 years old, had feared a fatal beating was coming

The family of Ta'Neasha Chappell is demanding justice after learning the 23-year-old mother who died after becoming inexplicably, violently ill in a southern Indiana jail had facial bruises and swelling indicative of a beating.

Ms. Chappell had been arrested after allegations of shoplifting and a high-speed chase, and taken to the Jackson County Jail, a facility notorious for filthy conditions and discriminatory administration. She was held in the jail on a $4,007 bond from May 26 until July 16, when a medical emergency required her to be taken to the Schneck Medical Center, where she died shortly after arrival.

Ms. Chappell’s mother, Lavita McClain, had been deeply concerned because Ta'Neasha feared for her life. At a press conference, she told reporters that her daughter “called numerous times ... over and over, saying that 'they are going to kill me. Get me out of here,' and she told us there was a lot of incidents that happened in that jail."

Chappell was one of the few black inmates at the jail, where, according to her family’s attorneys, racially-biased treatment was the norm. Chappell's mother cited incidents where an inmate “cut her throat” and attempted to poison her with “some kind of cleaning chemical.” Unfortunately, the family was unable to raise the funds necessary to bail Chappell out.

Attorney Baker stated the case succinctly at a recent press conference, saying, "She went in a young, 23-year-old mother, healthy, and she should have returned to her family that same way."

Baker explained that Chappell began to be sick on July 15. She vomited repeatedly and drew a fever high enough for jail staff to monitor her temperature every 15 minutes. But it wasn’t until 24 hours later that EMS was summoned, and only after jail staff had found Chappell unresponsive. The family mentioned that jail staff had hinted at "something chemical" triggering the illness and death. However, there has been no official word on the cause of death, as the authorities are waiting for the results of an autopsy.

Might the “chemical” be related to the earlier poisoning attempt? And what about the bruises on Chappell’s face? After Chappell had been attacked, why hadn’t she been separated from the rest of the population?

Attorney Aguilar posted on social media, describing conditions at the jail ranging from substandard to deplorable:

• Lack of basic hygiene and medical care
• Backed up sewage
• Black mold
• Guards and nurses unresponsive to medical needs
• Unprofessional and punitive conduct by guards and nurses
• Prisoners wrongfully deprived of showers, food, and water
• Guards attacking prisoners unprovoked
• Guards subjecting prisoners to racial slurs
• Guards “constantly showing favoritism to certain female inmates who will flirt back with them."

In view of the conditions he sites, Aguilar scoffs at the jail’s contention they’ve had “zero” COVID-19 cases throughout the pandemic even though Jackson County has “the highest COVID positivity rate in all of Indiana.” Aguilar contends that the only way they could have recorded zero cases is if the jail was so deliberately indifferent to its inmates' health they ignored any signs of infection. “Deliberate indifference,” Aguilar contends is the reason Chappell “was left in her cell for 24 hours while vomiting and fighting a spiking fever.”

The facts the attorneys allege produce an image of a corrupt holding tank where guards and favored inmates are permitted to take out aggressions on others. Chappell's sister, Ronesha Murrell, wants the truth to come out. "We are owed that,” she said in an interview. “My sister was in their care. Regardless as an inmate, they had a duty to protect her still."

That duty to protect is at the heart of the case. Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1871 allows victims to sue when anyone “under the color of the law” has deprived them of their basic civil rights. Section 1983 applies to law enforcement officers acting under authority given by the law, but in violation of the law. This section is often used to seek redress in police brutality cases, but it wouldn’t be necessary here to prove the police beat Ta'Neasha Chappell or slipped her a chemical compound to make her ill.

The fact that the police were negligent in managing the jail and allowed attacks among inmates to take place would be enough. Of course, the unsanitary conditions, deprivation, and arbitrary abuse also give rise to claims under the law.

Ms. Murrell is exactly right when she insists the police have a duty to protect inmates in their custody. Failure to protect Ta'Neasha Chappell could make the cops every bit as responsible for her death as if they’d committed the attacks themselves.