Family sues Cumberland County Jail leaders over man’s overdose death (2024)

Whenever James Mannion would leave his daughters, he would ask them to kiss his keychain – an orange and black cat – before he left.

Mannion’s family says that his girls were his north star as he struggled with opioid use disorder, a disease that pulled him in all kinds of directions as he searched for ways to stop his intense cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Every time he sought treatment, it was for his daughters.

“He was just a family man and he always wanted to do better and thrive for his family,” said Taylor Webster, the mother of Mannion’s two daughters, who are now 6 and 9 years old.

Mannion died two years ago of an overdose at the Cumberland County Jail after he had been arrested on drug-related charges. On Friday, his family filed a civil complaint in U.S. District Court in Portland against Sheriff Kevin Joyce and the jail’s health care provider, Armor Correctional Health Care Services, alleging they are at fault for his death after denying Mannion’s many requests for buprenorphine, a medication that helps combat withdrawal and cravings.

The lawsuit alleges the defendants violated Mannion’s due process rights and his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to treat his opioid use disorder. The family is also suing Joyce and Armor under Maine’s Wrongful Death Act.

Joyce said Monday that he wasn’t aware of the lawsuit and didn’t have a lawyer yet.

“If there was, we would generally reserve comments to our attorney on any open case,” he said.

A spokesperson for Armor declined to comment on the allegations because the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Mannion had been at the jail for nine months when he overdosed on fentanyl on Aug. 14, 2022. Peter Curtis, another inmate, was accused of smuggling in the drugs that killed Mannion. Curtis was sentenced to five years in November, according to his lawyer.

Mannion died hours before his oldest daughter was scheduled to visit, Webster said. They were going to celebrate Mannion’s upcoming 31st birthday.

Alexis Chardon, one of the lawyers for Mannion’s family, said her clients believe Joyce and Armor are at fault because of the time Mannion spent pleading for treatment.

“If they had provided James with medication for his opioid use disorder, he would have been able to see his daughter,” Chardon said.

Mannion begged several times for help. He even asked a judge to lower his $50,000 bail so he could go somewhere else to get treatment, according to court records.

“I personally have two beautiful daughters … who deserve an active and most importantly sober father figure in their lives,” he wrote.

Before his arrest in December 2021, Mannion had been on suboxone, a form of buprenorphine, and was in recovery. Webster said it made him more productive and offered him more stability.

According to the family’s lawsuit, Dr. Edie Woodward, an employee of Armor Health Care Correctional Services, noted in Mannion’s medical records that he had previously used suboxonebut still refused to give Mannion the medication. She is one of three Armor employees named in the filing, all of whom dealt with Mannion as his complaints of pain grew more vivid.

“He reported to Defendants that he had ‘daily cravings,’ was ‘constantly having dreams about using again,’ dreamed of ‘getting high,’ and was ‘still look(ing) for my veins,’ ” the complaint states. “He pleaded with CCJ medical staff that ‘if my cravings don’t go away, my mental state is going to get worse and worse,’ and ‘I want help.’ ”

“It’s indisputable that (the medical records) show the tale of a man suffering,” said Chardon. “That’s a man in intense pain. Physical and mental suffering.”

The complaint also cites several studies about the success of medication for opioid use disorder, particularly in jails and prisons where many are affected by addiction.

“This is a proven medicine,” said David Sinkman, a lawyer from a national firm that is also representing the family. “It works. And this jail, despite knowing that, refused. They didn’t provide him this medication.”

Sinkman said federal officials have made it a priority to ensure medication assisted treatment is provided in the criminal justice system and referenced a $900,000 grant the jail received in 2020 to implementit.

Some courts have also reinforced the importance of medication assisted treatment in correctional settings. In 2019, the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston ordered an Aroostook County Jail to provide Brenda Smith with suboxone.

Sinkman also referenced a recent ruling on a case he worked on in West Virginia, where a federal judge agreed that it’s unconstitutional to deny inmates suboxone even if they test positive for other drugs.

“This is a national problem and it’s not going away,” said Sinkman.

The complaint demands a jury trial to determine damages. Without listing a dollar figure, the complaint references what the family has lost from Mannion as a provider and protector, his funeral expenses and the mental anguish his death has caused. Webster said there are things Mannion’s daughters will miss out on.

“Their dad is like, their whole world,” she said in an interview Monday.

Sometimes when she’s working in Ogunquit, she’ll take her daughters with her so they can visit Mannion’s gravesite in Wells. He grew up there, playing football in high school.

Since Mannion’s death, his daughters have only suffered more losses. Their grandfather died, and on Saturday, they lost their uncle Chris, Mannion’s younger brother who Webster said they were close to.

The girls will miss Mannion’s comfort. They’ll miss him guiding them through these losses and his fatherly advice.

“Just the simple things that make life easier,” Webster said.

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