Stephen Burrell
- Age: 26
- Name of Jail: Las Vegas City Jail
- Location: Las Vegas, NV
- Cause of Death*: Starvation
- Incarceration Type: Pre-trial detention
- Private Company: Wellpath
- Incarceration Duration: Nearly eight weeks
- Date of Death: March 8, 2019
Stephen Burrell was a 26-year-old resident of Clark County, NV, with diagnosed mental health issues, including schizophrenia. On January 12, 2019, he was arrested for the obstructive use of a public sidewalk, a misdemeanor, and booked into the City of Las Vegas Detention Center.
Throughout his incarceration, Burrell was housed in an isolation unit where, according to a federal judicial order, he ate little to no food. In the weeks after his arrest, his weight dropped steadily. A month later, a doctor evaluated Burrell and submitted orders for a medical release. But on March 8, 2019, some 56 days into his incarceration, Burrell died of starvation. At his autopsy, Burrell weighed only 126 pounds, a steep drop from his weight of 174 pounds at the time of his arrest.
On multiple occasions during Burrell’s incarceration, staff of the jail and Wellpath, the private company contracted to deliver healthcare in the jail, “rather than intervene medically, simply filled out a medical refusal form and went on with their day," the lawsuit alleged.
Both the City of Las Vegas and Wellpath declined to comment on the specifics of Burrell’s case. A representative from the city referred to its official answer to his estate’s lawsuit, which is available here. Wellpath’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.”
A full account of the lawsuit—including the estate’s allegations against the City of Las Vegas and Wellpath, as well as each party’s response, is available through PACER (Case 2:21-cv-00372, District of Nevada).