ODRC Settles Dewey McVay Wrongful Death Case

Prison employees’ abuse and neglect led to Mr. McVay’s untimely death

Background

In December 2019, Dewey McVay was housed at the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC) Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio. Mr. McVay had a long history of mental health issues and limited access to compassionate treatment and adequate support while in prison. On December 2, 2019, prison guards approached Mr. McVay’s cell to transfer him to another housing area. Mr. McVay resisted the transfer, and the guards failed to follow prison policies while securing Mr. McVay for transport. A correctional officer improperly entered Mr. McVay’s cell, escalating the situation, leading to two other ODRC employees attacking Mr. McVay in his cell. The officers assaulted Mr. McVay and continued to brutalize and bloody him, even after he was handcuffed.

After the assault, these officers reported false and misleading information about the source of Mr. McVay’s extensive injuries. Several other officers witnessed or had knowledge of the attack but did not report it. Afterward, ODRC medical staff failed to seek accurate information about Mr. McVay’s injuries and did not follow through on a doctor’s recommendation that Mr. McVay receive a CT scan to assess his head injuries. After nearly two weeks of insufficient medical treatment, Dewey McVay was found unresponsive on the floor of his cell. He died on December 20, 2019 from blunt force injuries to the head.

Approach & Resolution

Mr. McVay’s Estate, through his sister, filed suit in April 2022 to uncover the truth and seek justice after his needless and preventable death. Civil rights law firm FG+G represented the Estate in this case to address the abuse and neglect Mr. McVay suffered at the hands of prison guards and medical staff. The ODRC agreed to pay $225,000 to settle claims against Ohio’s prison system for the violence and neglect of its staff that caused Mr. McVay’s death. 

Patricia Maxwell, Mr. McVay’s sister and administrator of his Estate, says about the settlement, “My brother did not deserve to die like this. As a nurse myself, I am shocked at the medical staff’s failures to follow up or advocate for Dewey in these circumstances. What the prison guards did to Dewey was extremely wrong and inexcusable, and their cover-up showed that they thought no one cared about Dewey enough to notice. But Dewey’s humanity and his rights were important, his life had meaning, and he was loved, even though he was in prison, and even though he was there for a reason. Dewey, like everyone in prison, was totally dependent on prison staff for safety, security, medical and mental health care, and fair treatment—and Dewey got none of that, and it ended his life. He should still be alive today.”

“Mr. McVay’s death was preventable and tragic, and is yet another example of abuse and neglect by prison staff followed by an attempt to cover up the truth. Fortunately, ODRC conducted an investigation in this case and found that its officers used excessive force against Mr. McVay and violated prison policies. But this does not bring Mr. McVay back, and it does not undo the dehumanizing, violent abuse and disinterested neglect that caused his death. We hope that this case, and this settlement, will cause prison officers to think twice before brutalizing people in their care and will lead to medical staff no longer looking the other way when they provide medical care to people who have been assaulted by prison staff.”
— Jacqueline Greene, FG+G partner
 
 
 
FG+Gjacqueline greene, dewey mcvay, civil rights, cincinnati