Kristine Guerra

kristine.guerra@indystar.com

Michael Shane Satterfield had tried and failed several times to quit drinking alcohol.

He was arrested in December in Decatur County while driving drunk. He later quit his job and turned himself in. He was to serve a two-week sentence as part of a plea deal. The plan was to use his jail time to get away from alcohol and seek treatment after he got out.

But Satterfield, 38, never finished his sentence. He never made it out. He died just four days after turning himself in. A wrongful death lawsuit filed against Decatur County Sheriff Gregory Allen and several of his jail staff alleges they failed to provide timely medical treatment after Satterfield showed symptoms of delirium tremens, the most serious and sometimes deadly form of alcohol withdrawal that involves hallucinations and mood swings.

A complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana reveals the horrifying details of the last few days of Satterfield’s life.

The Greensburg man first showed signs of alcohol withdrawal just hours after he was booked on March 13. Without examining Satterfield, the jail’s medical doctor told jail personnel via text message to give Satterfield Benadryl four times a day to help with his symptoms, according to the complaint.

Two days later, Satterfield asked to be moved from the jail’s general population area. He was crying and saying he “just wanted to (be) by himself,” according to the complaint. One inmate told a jail deputy that Satterfield had been hallucinating and said he drank “a gallon of vodka a day.” Satterfield was then moved to a detox cell.

About 2 a.m. March 16, a jail deputy saw Satterfield ripping his blanket. According to the complaint, he told the deputy to “not harm his mother.” Later he began screaming.

He told another deputy a few hours later that there was a fire, that “someone was being raped on the other side of the wall,” and that “there was a bomb in his cell,” the complaint said. Satterfield continued yelling. Jail deputies told him several times to calm down.

Later that morning, Satterfield wrote the word “HELP” on the wall using his feces, the complaint said. Jail personnel also saw the letters C and H etched on his skin. Satterfield, who had been temporarily moved to the booking area, said he had used his glasses to write a message on his arm in case he died. He was later moved back to his cell, where he continued screaming.

“There’s a man in here and he’s making me do this and act this way,” Satterfield yelled, according to the complaint.

He went on to say that the man “was putting serpents in his pants,” the complaint said. He was seen walking around his cell with his hands on the walls, yelling that someone was trying to kill his mother.

Satterfield was transferred to a padded cell about 3:30 a.m. the next day. While he was being moved, a jail deputy noticed dried blood on Satterfield’s tongue. By that time, Satterfield had been refusing to eat and to take his medication.

About midday March 17, Satterfield was placed on a 30-minute medical watch. But according to the complaint, jail surveillance video showed that no one checked on Satterfield until 4:30 p.m., more than three hours later. By that time, Satterfield was sitting in the corner of his padded cell, breathing heavily and barely moving.

At no time during the four days that Satterfield showed signs of alcohol withdrawal did the jail’s medical doctor come to examine him, the complaint said. The lawsuit alleges that despite knowing that Satterfield’s deteriorating condition needed emergency medical attention, none of the jail deputies took him to the hospital.

Sheriff Allen, the complaint alleges, has a policy that no inmates should be taken to the hospital without his approval. But it wasn’t until the evening of March 17 that Allen went to Satterfield’s cell to check on him, the complaint said. He then asked the dispatch center to call an ambulance. By the time the ambulance arrived, Satterfield’s heart had stopped beating.

Responders arrived at the hospital just before 7 p.m. Satterfield was pronounced dead less than 30 minutes later.

Decatur County Coroner Charity Banks said Satterfield died of complications of ethanol withdrawal.

Lynn Brewsaugh said she was in the middle of writing a letter to her son when jail staff knocked on her door. She was told her son had died.

“I was shocked. I had to sit down,” said Brewsaugh, Greensburg. “I just couldn’t believe it.”

Now, Brewsaugh said she wants justice for her only child. She said she was never notified while her son’s condition was worsening.

“I think he was mistreated there,” she said. “I want changes at that jail.”

Stephen Wagner, of Wagner Reese LLP in Carmel, who represents Brewsaugh, said jail deputies are trained to recognize alcohol withdrawal symptoms, including the severe form. He said alcohol withdrawal is common in county jails, and most cases can be treated on an outpatient basis as long as a medical professional is present. Cases like Satterfield’s are not as common, but jail personnel are trained in such situations to take the person to the emergency room.

The lawsuit was filed Oct. 31 against the Decatur County Sheriff’s Department, Allen, jail commander Darin Miley and 12 jail deputies.

Indianapolis attorney James Stephenson, who represents the defendants, has declined to comment.

Wagner said jail deaths due to some medical condition are not uncommon. Satterfield’s case is one of nine wrongful death lawsuits against county jails in Indiana that Wagner is handling.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the annual number of deaths reported in Indiana jails from 2000 to 2010 has fluctuated, averaging about 18 every year.

Eights months have passed since Satterfield died. He was a free spirit for much of his life, Brewsaugh said. Shortly before his death, Satterfield was contemplating settling down with someone and was hoping to seek treatment for his alcohol problems, which began when he was 18. He was planning to go to Fairbanks alcohol and drug treatment center after he got out of jail.

But his two-week sentence turned into a death sentence, Wagner said.

“The sad thing is he wasn’t in jail for a crime of deception,” he said. “He made a mistake. He’s there to pay his debt.”

Call Star reporter Kristine Guerra at (317) 444-6209. Follow her on Twitter: @kristine_guerra.