Mentally Ill Man Allowed to Waste Away in Jail, $60M Suit Says

A mentally ill man who died in jail was repeatedly denied food and made to live in filthy conditions, dying after mysteriously wasting away, according to a $60 million lawsuit filed by his family against the jail and health care providers.

Jamycheal Mitchell, 24, was arrested in April 2015 after stealing about $5 worth of sweets and soda from a local convenience store, his aunt Roxanne Adams told ABC News today. Four months later, he was found dead in his cell at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth, Virginia.

"I just want some answers," Adams said, "He was the most sweetest, most generous, guy you could ever meet."

Adams added that Mitchell suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia , and was experiencing an "episode" when he was arrested for shoplifting.
"Every time he was in one of his episodes, in his mind it wasn't like stealing," Adams said, "He never had to steal, he always had money, we always took good care of him. He just couldn't mentally comprehend."

The federal lawsuit, filed in Virginia federal court, claims that Mitchell was mistreated, physically and verbally abused, ignored and "regularly" denied food.
The court papers say that according to one inmate, he would sometimes receive "only one meal a day or one meal over several days."

"Mitchell would suffer dramatic, significant weight loss that was never adequately addressed," the suit says.