Jamycheal Mitchell

In April 2015, Jamycheal Mitchell, 24, was arrested for allegedly stealing $5 in snacks from a 7-Eleven. He had a history of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and had previously been diagnosed as mildly intellectually disabled.

According to a U.S. Department of Justice investigation, following a mental health screening in which Mitchell was found to be “manic and psychotic,” a court ordered that he be sent to a state mental hospital, but the hospital never received that order. Two months later, the court issued another such order, which was received by the hospital “but was not entered onto the hospital’s transfer log. As a result, [Mitchell] was not transferred to the hospital.”

Instead, Mitchell remained incarcerated at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail, where he was mistreated and ignored by jail staff, according to a federal court opinion. Correctional officers routinely denied him food and water; he lived in a cell covered by feces and urine. According to a lawsuit filed by his family, he received “virtually no psychotropic medication at the Jail, and, about a month before his death, his medication was discontinued altogether.” At times, “Mitchell was forced to the ground, dragged, sprayed with mace, stood upon, punched and kicked” by corrections officers, the lawsuit alleged. One incarcerated person reported that officers treated Mitchell “like a circus animal.”

Mitchell lost at least 40 pounds during his incarceration. At a court hearing, “his family was shocked to see how gaunt Mitchell had become,” according to the lawsuit. His aunt made calls to jail officials, trying to help him. Jail officials told her that Mitchell was not eating, but other incarcerated people reported that he ate hungrily when given food, according to the lawsuit.

Mitchell was found dead on August 19, 2015. A medical examiner listed his cause of death as “probable cardiac arrhythmia accompanying wasting syndrome of unknown etiology.”

“Upon viewing his body, Mitchell's family was stunned," according to the lawsuit. "Their beloved Jamycheal, despite his struggles with mental illness, had been a vibrant young man who loved music and always made people laugh. In his place was a withered figure the family could hardly recognize.”

According to the DOJ investigation, after Michael’s death, the court’s second transfer order was found in a file drawer at the state mental hospital. Also in the drawer were several similar court orders, of people incarcerated in county jails across Virginia who were still awaiting transfers to the hospital.

A spokesperson for NaphCare declined to comment on the specifics of Michael’s case but stated, “We are confident in the quality of care provided to our patients and remain committed to providing the highest quality healthcare to every patient.”

Hamptons Roads Regional Jail permanently closed in March of 2024.

A full account of the lawsuit—including the estate’s allegations against Naphcare, Hampton Roads Regional Jail and others, as well as each party’s response—is available through PACER (Case 2:16-cv-00229, Eastern District of Virginia).

• IN THE NEWS (Warning: Disturbing Contents)
  • Article One
  • Article Two
• LITIGATION (Warning: Disturbing Contents)
  • Complaint
  • Answer from Hampton Roads Regional Jail