A lawsuit has been filed alleging that a 16-year-old girl died from a methamphetamine overdose in a Georgia youth detention center while staff members watched without intervening. The teenager, Alexis Marie Sluder, was arrested and detained at the Elbert Shaw Regional Youth Detention Center in Dalton, Georgia, in 2022. The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Georgia on Tuesday.
The lawsuit accuses five employees of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, including an officer, a cadet, a sergeant, a nurse, and the facility’s director, of negligence. Augusta University, the provider of medical and mental health services for juvenile detainees at the facility, is also named in the lawsuit.
The Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice expressed its commitment to the safety and well-being of those in its care in a statement. The department expressed deep sadness over the incident and extended its condolences to the family of the deceased. Augusta University has yet to comment on the lawsuit.
According to court documents, Sluder was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and shoplifting on August 26, 2022. She was initially jailed before being transferred to the Elbert Shaw Regional Youth Detention Center. Despite indications of Sluder’s mental health issues and her admission of drug use, she was not taken to a hospital.
The lawsuit alleges that Sluder was placed in a room with a live video feed for constant monitoring. She began to exhibit signs of a medical emergency, including convulsions, heavy breathing, and profuse sweating. Despite the presence of two employees and another watching via video feed, no action was taken to assist her.
The lawsuit further alleges that the defendants discussed Sluder’s condition but did not act, citing insufficient staff to transport her to a hospital without violating policy. The lawsuit disputes this, stating that there is no policy preventing state employees from calling emergency services in such situations.
Sluder was pronounced dead from methamphetamine toxicity at 4:26 a.m. on August 27, 2022. The five employees implicated in the lawsuit were subsequently fired and indicted on charges of cruelty to children a year later. Their cases are currently pending.
The parents of Alexis Sluder have expressed their grief over the loss of their daughter, who was set to graduate from high school this year. Her mother, Melanie Hogan Sluder, shared her heartbreak over the milestones her daughter would never experience.