Wife of 72-year-old veteran beaten to death by a cellmate in Alabama jail sues corrections officers

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The wife of a 72-year-old veteran who was beaten to death by a cellmate in an Alabama jail filed a civil rights lawsuit Wednesday against three deputies working at the jail, alleging that the officers ignored his pleas for help.

Attorneys for the wife of John Reed say the deputies working at the Macon County jail that morning in October were made aware of the assault but ignored his cries and need for medical attention. Reed required a wheelchair and 24-hour oxygen for a lung disease.

The three deputies named as defendants entered the holding cell where Reed was injured and neglected to separate him from the cellmate during the attack, according to the lawsuit.

''This is one of the worst cases of prison neglect that I've seen,'' said civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers, who is representing Reed's wife, Regene Brantley-Reed.

Court records did not list attorneys representing the three deputies on Wednesday. The Macon County sheriff did not respond to a phone call seeking comment.

Reed's cellmate, Daniel Pollard, 24, has been charged with murder in Reed's death. His attorney, Jennifer Tompkins, said he has severe mental health issues.

''In 17 years of criminal law, this is probably one of the worst cases I've ever had in the sense of mental health,'' Tompkins said.

Pollard pleaded guilty to attempted murder and burglary in 2022 and was sentenced to a 20-year split sentence, with five to be served in jail or prison, according to his arrest records. He was released on probation in May 2024, according to a spokesperson from the Alabama Department of Corrections.

For Brantley-Reed's Montgomery-based attorney Chuck James, questions remain about why Reed, who had been arrested for alleged drunken driving, was being held with Pollard in the first place.

''These deputies had multiple opportunities to do the right thing and, if they had, John Reed would be alive today,'' James said.

The Macon County sheriff's department did not respond to requests for comment about why Pollard, who was arrested for a misdemeanor, was being held in the county jail.

Tompkins said the problem goes beyond the Macon County jail.

''The mental health system in Alabama is so broken that we're not getting the mental health treatment quick enough to prevent crime,'' Tompkins said. ''We're creating a bad environment for not only other inmates but for the jailers too.''

Brantley-Reed said she was waiting outside the jail with less than $300 to bail her husband out while the beating was happening. She didn't know anything was wrong until she saw first responders arrive at the jail, she said. She was told by an administrator her husband was dead shortly after.

Reed's beating was so severe that his wife had to bring photographs of him to the funeral director so that he could reconstruct his face for the funeral.

Brantley-Reed said there wasn't a day in their 16-year relationship when her husband didn't make her laugh. Now, his 95-year-old mother has dementia and cries every day when she asks for her son — only to be reminded that he is dead.

''It was just so unexpected and so crazy how it happened that sometimes I can't even get a grip on it,'' Brantley-Reed said.

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Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.