‘It Shocks the Conscience’: Alabama Deputies Ignored 72-Year-Old Disabled Veteran’s Cries for Help As 24-Year-Old Cellmate Beat Him Until He Was Unrecognizable, Wrongful Death Suit Says

The wife of a 72-year-old man who was beaten to death in an Alabama jail is suing three corrections officers who allegedly ignored her husband’s pleas for help when his cellmate attacked him. Regene Brantley-Reed filed the lawsuit on Jan. 28, alleging that three sheriff’s deputies failed to protect her husband, John Reed, during the attack and provide him proper medical attention during his overnight stay at the Macon County Jail. According to the complaint, Reed was booked into jail on Oct. 21, 2024, after being arrested for driving under the influence. John Reed, 72, was beaten to death by his cellmate at a jail in Alabama. His wife has sued the corrections officers for allegedly failing to supervise the holding cell and provide medical aid during the fatal attack. (Photos: Strom Law Firm) At 8 a.m. the next morning, he called his wife to ask her to pay his $285 bond. Reed, a 72-year-old military veteran who used a cane and a motorized wheelchair and needed around-the-clock oxygen assistance for lung disease, was placed into a holding cell with a 24-year-old cellmate that same morning. At some point, the cellmate began threatening and attacking him, the suit obtained by...