Ramon McGhee

Ramon McGhee “loved to draw, and loved to dance to the oldies like James Brown,” his mother told the Lab. “He was a hard-working person, and he always wanted to help people when he saw them in trouble.”

A 42-year-old man with diagnosed schizophrenia, McGhee was arrested in November 2022 by police in Bartlett, TN, and later sent to the Shelby County Jail. Despite a letter from West Tennessee Forensic Services recommending that McGhee be transferred to a psychiatric hospital for competency evaluation and mental health treatment, he allegedly remained in the custody of the county jail for a month and a half before being transferred. During that time, staff of both the jail and Wellpath, the private company contracted to deliver healthcare in the jail, failed to provide sufficient evaluation or treatment of McGhee’s mental health issues, according to a lawsuit filed by McGhee’s family.

After a brief hospital stay, McGhee was returned to the county jail with a schizophrenia diagnosis, instructions for follow-up care and multiple prescriptions for psychiatric medication.

However, in the Shelby County Jail, McGhee became infested with lice and bed bugs. According to the lawsuit, over the course of nine months, Wellpath staff routinely denied McGhee his psychiatric medications in order to avoid his infestations. On the few occasions when McGhee was able to speak with Wellpath staff, they offered him insufficient care for his infestations, which steadily worsened, and failed to make notes about his weight, mental status, or appearance in his medical chart, the lawsuit alleged.

On January 10, McGhee was found unresponsive in his cell and was transported to the hospital. Hospital records indicate that, upon arrival, McGhee was “covered in lice and bedbugs [sic] and smelled of urine and feces.” McGhee died after two days in the hospital, on January 12, 2024.

An autopsy determined that McGhee’s cause of death was “severe neglect with malnutrition, dehydration, severe body insect infestation(s) and complications” and ruled his death a homicide. At the time of autopsy, McGhee’s stomach was “virtually empty” and he had lost more than 30 pounds in six months. McGhee’s mother told the Lab that she and her daughter had purchased pizza and hamburgers for her son from the jail’s commissary, but explained that McGhee didn’t seem to receive the meals. “I tried to do everything I could possibly do as a mother to make him comfortable, even in the situation he was in,” she said. “I knew something was wrong.”

Wellpath declined to comment on the specifics of McGhee’s case, but the company’s Director of External Communications and Reputation Management stated that “Wellpath is unwavering in its commitment to delivering quality, compassionate care to thousands of patients across our partner facilities. We are deeply proud of the impactful work our teams provide to vulnerable, underserved patients in the correctional setting and the consistent evaluation of our processes and procedures to enhance our patients' care.”

The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to the Lab’s request for comment.

A full account of the lawsuit—including the estate’s allegations against Wellpath, Shelby County and others, as well as each party’s response—is available through PACER (Case 2:25-cv-02006, Western District of Tennessee).

• IN THE NEWS (Warning: Disturbing Contents)
  • Article One
• LITIGATION (Warning: Disturbing Contents)
  • Complaint
  • Answer from Shelby County, TN