Family of man malnourished, covered in feces after Shelby County Jail death hires Ben Crump

The family of Ramon McGhee, a man who sources told The Commercial Appeal was malnourished and covered in bed bug bites and feces when he died at the Shelby County Jail in early January, has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump, according to a Wednesday press release from Crump's law firm.

McGhee was found unresponsive in his cell at the jail, commonly referred to as 201 Poplar, on Jan. 10 and was taken to Methodist University Hospital. He died two days later, though a family member said he was brain dead when he arrived at the hospital.

"Ramon's condition upon arrival at the hospital, infested with insects and covered in bites is truly chilling," Crump said in the press release. "How long was this negligence and mistreatment going on for his body to be overtaken by lice and bed bugs? One can only imagine the severity of Ramon's suffering."

Crump, who is also representing the families of Deion Byrd and Gershun Freeman, two men who also died while in jail custody, also called for a federal investigation of the jail.

"We have long been calling out the many abuses at [the] Shelby County Jail and now we have a clearer picture of the true (uninhabitable) nature of that facility," he said. "The time is now for the federal government to strongly intervene to ensure that this jail is reformed from the inside out so that nobody else has to suffer the same fate as Ramon."

In a seemingly similar incident to McGhee's death, Crump settled a lawsuit with the Fulton County Jail in Georgia last August after an inmate there was found dead, covered in bed bugs. Crump called for a federal investigation into that jail, which was opened about a month before the settlement.

A family member, who asked not to be identified, told The CA McGhee was "jet black" from the neck down when they viewed his body. Changing skin tone could reflect bodily harm or natural processes that occur after death. That information would be part of an autopsy report.

The Shelby County Sheriff's Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Shelby County District Attorney's Office each confirmed that McGhee had died and that a TBI investigation was active, but said they could not comment due to the investigation.

More: Ben Crump hired by siblings who say they were abused at Memphis Youth Villages as children

Methodist said it could not disclose patient information due to privacy laws.

McGhee's death was the first to occur inside the jail in 2024 and followed a year marked by calls for change at the jail. Activists, inmates and defense attorneys alike have described the conditions at the jail as unsafe and unsanitary.

Crump has now been retained by the families of nine people who have died or have been allegedly harmed in Memphis, including McGhee's family.

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com, or (901)208-3922, and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter, @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Ben Crump retained by ninth Memphis family after Shelby County Jail death