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After Jesse Banks died alone in his cell at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, a state medical examiner found a ripped up a mask to protect against disease crammed in the back of his bloody mouth.
The account, drawn from an Oregon State Police detective鈥檚 notes, is part of a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the Oregon Department of Corrections on Sunday in U.S. District Court in Eugene. The lawsuit, filed by Banks鈥� mother Patricia 鈥淭rish鈥� Nemeth, lays out a series of allegations about Banks鈥� treatment in prison before his death on the morning of April 1, 2023 in a cell im the prison鈥檚 behavioral health unit.
More broadly, it seeks to hold the agency accountable for its treatment of Banks, a 35-year-old man who had a documented history of mental health challenges and needed medication. The lawsuit suggests either a coverup, negligence or both were involved and seeks damages of up to $20 million.
鈥淭he state actors were deliberately indifferent to the serious medical needs of Mr. Banks, either by strangling him to death, increasing his dosage to a fatal dose and then leaving him unattended for several hours while they had the responsibility to perform tier checks every 15 minutes,鈥� the lawsuit said.
A spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Corrections declined to comment on the allegations.
Banks had a developmental disorder, and corrections agency鈥檚 staff failed to follow their rules for inmates and make the necessary checks for inmates with mental health conditions who are in solitary confinement, the lawsuit alleges. Those checks are supposed to happen every 15 or 30 minutes.
Instead, a corrections officer checking on Banks found him dead after more than two hours without any checks, the lawsuit alleged.
Wayne Lamb, a Salem attorney who represents the mother, said appropriate medical care and regular checks are crucial in a case like Banks.
The lawsuit says the prison 鈥渢urned a blind eye鈥� to his need for mental health care and that the state acted to cover up evidence. The mask mentioned in the detective鈥檚 notes was an N95, which is supposed to filter out 95% of particles in the air, including those that cause COVID.
The bloody mask was not mentioned in the autopsy report, the lawsuit said. Instead, the report said the upper airway was not obstructed, the lawsuit alleged.
The complaint said the autopsy investigation was flawed and that the state either 鈥渋ntended to bury evidence鈥� or had no interest in the actual cause of death, the lawsuit said. The autopsy found the death was self-inflicted strangulation.
The lawsuit asserted Banks died in one of two ways 鈥� and the state was responsible in both cases. One possibility is that a state employee at the prison crammed the mask into his throat and the evidence was buried, the lawsuit said. The other is when a doctor inappropriately adjusted his medication, it forced an overdose and triggered a suicide, the lawsuit said.
Either way, the failure to conduct regular checks contributed, the lawsuit said.
鈥淲hether the death was suicide or guard strangulation, the death was the product of a criminal act of intent or recklessness,鈥� the lawsuit said.
Based on medical records, the lawsuit said Banks didn鈥檛 have an inclination toward suicide. Rather, he said he looked forward to his release while visiting with his family.
鈥淗e spoke of the future, of work, of National Geographic subscriptions and he generally spoke with optimism and level-headedness,鈥� the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said Banks faced bullying and harassment from corrections officers and struggled to get access to appropriation medications.
Banks bounced in and out of the criminal justice system and, at times, went to Oregon State Hospital for treatment so he could aid in his defense in court against various charges. His mental health and ability to face charges was repeatedly mentioned in his felony cases.
He also was imprisoned. In 2018, he went to Oregon State Penitentiary for a 38-month sentence and was housed in the behavioral health unit.
In 2022, he was sentenced on charges of aggravated harassment and assaulting a public safety officer and returned to the prison. When Banks died, he was about two years from his release date.
A corrections officer found him under his blankets and out of sight from the door, the lawsuit said.
Officers told investigators they made efforts to revive him with medical staff, but his body was no longer warm. He was already stiff and rigid from rigor mortis. They said they gave him CPR anyway.
鈥淲hether true or not, it was clearly too late, as Mr. Banks was pronounced dead at 10:07 a.m.,鈥� the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit opens the door for Nemeth鈥檚 lawyer to obtain more evidence, including potential security camera footage, and to interview prison staff to learn more about what transpired.
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