EAST ST. LOUIS - A mother is suing Jackson County and jail officials after her son committed suicide while incarcerated.
Alice Widdows, as administrator of the estate of Kevin F. Widdows, filed a federal lawsuit on Feb. 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against Jackson County, Jackson County Sheriff Robert Burns, Superintendent Lt. Lee Kersten, Sgt. Bobby Smith, Sgt. Weylin Wece, Cpl. Michael Stratton, Deputy Kaitlyn Stearns, Deputy Frank Cano, Deputy Kyle Spradling, Deputy Nicholas Stearns, Deputy Sergio Rafael, Sgt. Greg Rowald, Deputy Etherton, John Doe Deputy #3521 and jail nurse Connie Falkenbury, R.N. The suit alleges failure to protect in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment under 42 USC, Monell Claim, wrongful death, respondeat superior and indemnification.
According to the lawsuit, Widdows, 34, was a detainee at Carbondale Police Department on Jan. 29, 2021, and was taken for medical evaluation at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale. The Emergency Department concluded that Widdows had homicidal and suicidal ideation and needed psychiatric management.
"Hospital reports indidcate that Mr. Widdows' actions were triggered by 'voices in his head,'" the suit states.
Widdows was then transferred to the Jackson County Jail, where he was placed in a cell alone on Feb. 1, 2021, to accommodate a non-compliant inmate. Widdows was found dead in his cell on Feb. 2, 2021, after a series of missed security checks from guards and staff. The suit states that a call was made to his mother on the morning of Feb. 2, 2021, telling her he was in jail.
The plaintiff alleges that as the superintendent of the jail, Kersten supervised all staff and managed all aspects of operations. Widdows was the second detainee to successfully commit suicide at the jail within a seven-month window. Defendant Kersten had knowledge of all these suicides. He was also aware of all the policies, practices, and customs at the jail that caused the suicides and failed to take action to change policies or practices of the jail. She also claims the other defendants failed to conduct security checks and ignored the decedent's risk factors for suicide.
Kevin F. Widdows was allegedly caused to suffer a violation of constitutional rights, pain, suffering, emotional distress, injury, and ultimately, death. Alice Widdows claims she was caused to suffer loss of the decedent's services, protection, care, future income, assistance, society, companionship, comfort, guidance, counsel and advice, mental anguished caused by his death, funeral and other expenses.
The plaintiff seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney’s fees and court costs. Plaintiff is represented by William B. Ballard Jr. of William Ballard & Assoc. LLC in Anna, Ill.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:22-cv-00200-NJR