LEXINGTON, Ky. — After two weeks of testimony, a jury found that the Whitley County Detention Center and its corporate healthcare provider were not negligent after an inmate died in their care.

The verdict meant the jail and healthcare provider would not need to pay the family of Terri Beth Mays after her 2021 death. The jury returned the verdict Friday after three hours of deliberating. The jail’s healthcare partner is Southern Health Partners.

Mays’ mother, Tammy Webb, filed the federal lawsuit in September 2023, claiming the jail and its staff failed to provide Mays’ seizure medication and properly supervise her. Webb believed this contributed to her daughter’s death.

Mays, 32, died at the Whitley County Detention Center from cardiac dysrhythmia caused by dehydration, according to the state medical examiner.

Defense attorneys for the jail and several of its staff members who were defendants in the lawsuit said Mays’ death was tragic, but it was caused by more than a decade of chronic drug use.

One witness, Dr. Meredith Frame, the former state medical examiner who performed Mays’ autopsy, testified that it was “unlikely” Mays’ death was caused by a seizure from failure to provide her medicine.

“I don’t know (seizures) had any role in (Mays’ death),” Frame testified. “There were other underlying reasons I could support with lab findings to support the cause of death.”

Jason Williams, an attorney for the former jailer and other deputies, said he was gratified to receive a favorable verdict.

“The dedicated public servants who work in our jails do so in a difficult environment,” Williams told the Herald-Leader in an emailed statement. “We think that the jury, considering the evidence, understood that fact.”

Jonathan Shaw, an attorney for other deputies in the lawsuit, also noted the extreme difficulties faced by jailers and their staff while drug use continues to plague communities.

“While any loss of life is tragic - the duties of a deputy jailer in today’s environment with so many addiction issues plaguing our society is extremely difficult,” Shaw said. “Our clients have now been cleared of the allegations against them, and they can move forward.”

Paul Croley, Webb’s attorney, and attorneys for Southern Health Partners, were not immediately available for comment Wednesday morning.

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