Inmate Death at Hamilton County Jail Sparks Federal Lawsuit

The family of Deward Johnson has filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against Hamilton County over his death inside the Hamilton County Jail, alleging that staff let a preventable overdose kill him within 15 hours of his booking. The suit, filed March 14, 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, is the latest Hamilton County Jail inmate death lawsuit to test whether the facility’s medical care meets constitutional standards.¹

Who Filed the Suit and Against Whom

The plaintiff is Stacey Williams, representing Johnson’s family. The case number is 1:25-cv-00085-TRM-MJD, filed in the Chattanooga Division. The family is represented by Neal Pinkston of Pinkston Law, PLLC, a former Hamilton County District Attorney.¹

The named defendants are:

Hamilton County, Tennessee
Sheriff Austin Garrett and Deputy Chief of Corrections Shaun Shepherd
QCHC of Tennessee, PLLC, the jail’s contract medical provider, along with its owner, Dr. Johnny E. Bates
Unidentified sheriff’s office and QCHC employees listed as John Does¹

What Happened to Deward Johnson

Johnson was arrested at a Chattanooga Walmart at roughly 6:30 a.m. on March 14, 2024, over a shoplifting incident from a year earlier involving baseball trading cards worth less than $50.² At booking, he tested positive for methamphetamine, amphetamines, and fentanyl.³ He was pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m. that same day. An autopsy released in early May 2024 concluded his death was “likely caused by drugs.”⁴

What the Complaint Alleges

The core allegation is that Johnson’s death was preventable. According to the complaint, jail staff knew he had tested positive for three substances, including fentanyl, but took no precautions to monitor him for adverse drug reactions. The suit alleges he was in medical distress and received inadequate care.³

The family seeks monetary damages and asks the court to order the jail to implement remedial plans bringing conditions into compliance with constitutional standards.³

The Sheriff’s Office Response

The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has said that everyone admitted to the jail receives a health screening and that medical staff is available around the clock.³ The office has not publicly acknowledged any failure in Johnson’s case. The lawsuit is pending.

How Similar Hamilton County Jail Suits Have Fared

Federal civil rights claims over jail medical care are hard to win. Under Estelle v. Gamble (1976), plaintiffs must show “deliberate indifference,” meaning officials knew of a serious medical risk and consciously disregarded it. Ordinary negligence is not enough.

Two recent cases against the Hamilton County Jail illustrate the bar. In Burt v. Hamilton County, the estate of Timothy Burt, a 65-year-old who died of a heart attack in August 2022 after roughly two months in custody, alleged deliberate indifference, failure to train, and failure to supervise. Court records showed Burt’s weight fell from 119 pounds to about 95 pounds during his incarceration, and that 100 of 247 intakes during one week in August 2022 had delayed medical screenings.⁵ U.S. District Judge Charles Atchley Jr. nonetheless granted summary judgment to the defendants in August 2025, finding jail policies “lawful” on their face and holding that the plaintiff had not established a pattern of constitutional violations or tied any specific policy to Burt’s death. Sheriff Garrett said the ruling affirmed that the jail provides “the safest facility possible.”⁶

A separate 2023 wrongful death suit filed by Cristin Cornett over her husband Brandon Cornett’s death at the jail was also dismissed without a settlement.⁷

The Broader Pattern the Suit Points To

Johnson’s is not the only recent in-custody death at the facility. In 2025, the sheriff’s office acknowledged at least three deaths in custody, including inmate Matthew Vandergriff, who died after cardiac arrest at the jail in August 2025,⁸ and Deshawn Brazell, found unresponsive in a housing unit in December 2025.⁹

The total number is contested. In July 2025, the Chattanooga group CALEB alleged 22 deaths connected to the jail over the previous two years, counting cases marked “abated by death” in court records and inmates who died after hospital transfer. Sheriff Garrett said his office’s data showed seven deaths over that period and 20 since 2020, counting only deaths inside the facility, and called CALEB’s figure “absolutely ludicrous.”¹⁰ That count matters legally: establishing a pattern of constitutional violations is exactly what the Burt court found missing, and it is what the Johnson complaint will need to show.

In December 2025, Sheriff Garrett announced a medication-assisted treatment program offering FDA-approved drugs, counseling, and therapy to inmates with opioid addiction. Mayor Weston Wamp said the program would draw on opioid abatement funds.¹¹ The program addresses ongoing intake conditions rather than the events of March 14, 2024, and it does not resolve the claims in the Johnson complaint.

1
NewsChannel 9. Johnson v. Hamilton County Complaint
2
Chattanooga Times Free Press. Man Died of Preventable Overdose While in Custody
3
Tennessee Bar Association. Johnson Family Files Federal Lawsuit Against Hamilton County
4
Chattanooga Times Free Press. Autopsy: Man’s Death Before Release at Hamilton County Jail
5
Justia. Burt v. Hamilton County Et Al.
6
Chattanoogan. Federal Judge Grants Hamilton County’s Motion in Jail Death Lawsuit
7
Chattanooga Times Free Press. Local Update: Widow’s Hamilton County Jail Death Lawsuit
8
NewsChannel 9. Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Investigating In-Custody Death
9
WSMV. Hamilton County Jail Inmate Dies Prompting Investigation
10
WDEF. CALEB Alleges 22 Deaths at Hamilton County Jail Over the Past Two Years as Sheriff Disputes Their Data
11
WDEF. Sheriff Announces New Jail Medication Program