Chapelle News

Ottawa County Jail Death Verdict Delivers $33 Million Penalty After Federal Jury Finds Repeated Medical Neglect and Emotional Abuse in Terral Ellis Case

MIAMI, OK — A federal jury has ordered Ottawa County and other defendants to pay $33 million in damages after finding that Terral Ellis, 26, was left without proper care during a medical emergency at the Ottawa County Jail in Miami, Oklahoma. Ellis had turned himself in on Oct. 10, 2015, on an outstanding arrest warrant and died before Halloween.

The verdict came after a trial in U.S. District Court in Tulsa that centered on how jail staff responded as Ellis’s condition worsened. The jury heard that he repeatedly asked for medical help while other inmates also raised concerns about his health. According to the case, those warnings did not prompt a timely response.

What The Jury Found

District Attorney-elect Ben Loring and the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Ellis’s condition deteriorated sharply over the week after he entered the jail. The court record says he was ignored, ridiculed and tormented as he tried to get attention for his medical distress. The injuries and death prompted a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by his family in 2016.

The lawsuit named former Ottawa County Sheriff Terry Durborow, then-County Commissioners, the jail nurse and three jail employees, along with paramedics and an Oklahoma health care entity. The county and several other defendants were dismissed from the case before trial, leaving the sheriff in his official role as the sole remaining defendant, according to court documents.

How The Case Developed

At trial, the family argued that the jail violated Ellis’s constitutional rights by cutting corners on medical care and by failing to trust inmates who said he was in trouble. Jeremy Floyd, Ottawa County’s attorney at the time of the trial, said the county saw the case as one about discipline and prison operations, while the plaintiffs said it was about a failure to respond to a serious medical problem.

A federal jury agreed that the county had a substantial risk of serious harm and did not take reasonable steps to prevent it. The verdict also found emotional distress and referred to the conduct as “pervasive misconduct” in the closing arguments described in the appellate opinion. Earlier, the family had asked the jury to consider whether the jail’s actions rose to the level of a deprivation of constitutional rights.

Next Steps And Other Cases

With the verdict in place, Ottawa County officials are weighing how to pay the judgment and whether to move ahead with a sales tax proposal to help cover the cost. County leaders have said the county would likely seek bonds if voters approve the tax. If approved, the tax would rise by 1% for 13 years or until the debt is paid, whichever comes first.

Whether the county ultimately finances the judgment or challenges parts of the award is still unresolved. The U.S. District Court in Tulsa is the place to check for future filings, and the 10th Circuit remains the appellate court that has already reviewed parts of the case. The verdict also arrives as the county faces other jail-related lawsuits, including a separate federal case over a woman’s death at the Wagoner County Jail.

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