Widow says inadequate care led to husband's suicide in Cumberland County Jail
CAMDEN – A Millville woman has sued Cumberland County over her husband’s suicide in the county jail last year.
Amy Williams contends the Bridgeton jail failed to provide a safe environment and adequate medical care for her spouse, Everett "Danny" Williams III.
The suit was filed in Camden federal court on May 24, one week after the U.S. Justice Department reached an agreement with the county that calls for improvements at the jail.
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The widow's civil rights lawsuit echoes the findings of a five-year Justice Department investigation into the jail, which was prompted by multiple suicides between 2015 and 2018.
Suit: Cumberland County Jail not a safe environment
Among other claims, the suit asserts prison staffers failed to keep Williams “free from injury, self-harm and death.”
It also alleges a failure to properly screen inmates for mental health problems and to provide proper care, including medication, for detainees going through opioid withdrawal.
Attorneys for Amy Williams said "apparent institutional failings" at the jail have led to inadequate care and inmates' deaths.
"We hope that in time the jail will put safeguards in place to protect inmates who they have an obligation to protect," said the lawyers, Eric Kahn and Heidi Weintraub of Springfield, Union County.
Everett Williams, formerly an operator at Millville’s water department for more than 29 years, was jailed on an undisclosed charge in February 2022, the lawsuit says.
The father of two hanged himself on March 1, five days after returning to the jail from a week-long stay in a hospital.
An obituary described Williams as a golfer, poker player and motorcyclist.
“He loved making people laugh and had a great sense of humor," the obituary said. "He would always go out of his way to help someone in need."
The suit seeks unspecified damages for Amy Williams and her late husband's estate.
Named defendants include the county, its jail and Warden Eugene Caldwell.
Consent decree requires changes at Bridgeton jail
Under the proposed consent decree with the Justice Department, the jail is required to upgrade health care for inmates, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in announcing the agreement on May 17.
The changes, which await a federal judge’s approval, would include “access to life-saving medications, treatment for opiate withdrawal, and protection for those with a heightened risk of self-harm and suicide.”
In a May 17 statement, Cumberland County expressed “continued condolences to the families of those whose loss led to this settlement.
“Harm to a single person is harm to one too many persons,” it said, vowing to “exert all efforts to avoid additional incidents.”
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email him at jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Widow sues over death of Everett Williams III in Bridgeton jail
