Jonathan Magbie
Quadriplegic who died in D.C. Jail after a ten-day sentence.
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Jonathan Magbie (1977 – September 24, 2004) was an American quadriplegic who died in jail while serving a ten-day sentence for marijuana possession. Paralyzed from the neck down after being struck by a drunk driver at the age of four, he required private nursing care for as much as 20 hours a day.
In September 2004, D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith E. Retchin sentenced him to ten days in the D.C. Jail, citing a gun or cocaine found in the vehicle as factors. Lacking a ventilator, Magbie died in city custody four days later. His death sparked a series of op-ed pieces in The Washington Post by columnist Colbert I. King, and a lawsuit by his mother with the ACLU was settled out of court for a total of $4.6 million.
Background
Jonathan Magbie was paralyzed from the neck down at age four when a drunk driver struck him. In 2004, police stopped a vehicle he was in and found a marijuana cigarette, four grams of cocaine, and a loaded gun. The driver, Bernard Beckett, pleaded guilty to the gun charges, while Magbie pleaded guilty only to the marijuana possession. Despite having no prior criminal convictions and needing private nursing care for up to 20 hours a day, Judge Judith E. Retchin gave him a ten-day sentence in the D.C. Jail, citing the gun or cocaine as factors.
Magbie died in custody four days later because he lacked a ventilator. His mother, with the ACLU, filed a lawsuit against the District government and Greater Southeast Community Hospital for failing to provide proper care. That case, along with additional suits against Center for Correctional Health and Policy Studies, Inc. and Corrections Corp. of America, was settled out of court for $4.6 million.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Jonathan Magbie (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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