Memphis jail inmate malnourished, covered in bed bug bites, feces before death, source says
A man awaiting trial inside the Shelby County Jail who died after being brought to the hospital was covered in bed bug bites, feces and was malnourished, a source with knowledge of the incident confirmed to The Commercial Appeal.
The man, Ramon McGhee, was taken to a local hospital on Jan. 10 after being found "unresponsive in his cell," according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. TBI has been called in by the Shelby County District Attorney's Office to investigate the jail death. The man was pronounced dead Friday, and the official cause of death from the medical examiner has not yet been publicly released.
The source agreed to speak with The CA but asked to remain anonymous because they fear retaliation.
One of McGhee's family members, who asked not to be identified, said they were told by doctors at MethodistUniversity Hospital that McGhee was brain dead when he was examined by medical officials upon arrival.
"He was brain dead when he left 201," the family member said. "He was already brain dead. It was confirmed when they did a nuclear medicine test and found that there was no brain activity. His heart was beating, but there was no brain activity."
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They also said they were told by Shelby County Sheriff's Office deputies that McGhee had been taken to Methodist instead of Regional One Hospital because he "had not suffered a trauma," and it "has to be a stabbing or a cut, or something, where they would consider it as trauma."
The family member, who described McGhee as a light-skinned man, said the body was "jet black" from the neck down when they viewed it. Changing skin tone could reflect bodily harm or natural processes that occur after death. That information would be part of a coroner's report.
Both the source and family member said McGhee had mental health problems, with the family member saying he was supposed to be receiving treatment for those problems at the jail.
SCSO confirmed an inmate had died after being taken to the hospital, but deferred all other questions about McGhee's condition to TBI. The DA's office also deferred questions to TBI, citing the ongoing investigation.
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TBI said it could not disclose additional information about McGhee's condition due to the ongoing investigation, and Methodist said it could not disclose patient information due to patient privacy laws.
McGhee's death was the first death to occur inside the jail in 2024 and followed a year marked by calls for change at the jail. Activists, inmates, parents and defense attorneys alike have described the conditions at the jail as unsafe, and unsanitary.
In early December, The CA spoke with the parent of a former inmate at 201 Poplar who said the food served to inmates had gone bad and "mold or something be on the food" and that the "trays have mold and mildew."
Court records show that McGhee was booked at 201 Poplar on Feb. 6 and was later indicted on two counts of first-degree murder and especially aggravated robbery that law enforcement allege occurred in November 2022.
Details about the case were not immediately available through Shelby County's criminal justice portal, but a trial date was not set according to the portal. He was scheduled for a report date Jan. 30.
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: Shelby County Jail inmate who died was malnourished, covered in feces: Source
