Lewis Jordan, Jr. died of bacterial meningitis after symptoms and pleas for help were deliberately ignored by DOC staff in 2023

ANCHORAGE – Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska, with Highlands Law Firm, filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) for its role in the death of Lewis Jordan Jr., an incarcerated man at Goose Creek Correctional Complex who died of bacterial meningitis in 2023.  

While incarcerated, Lewis Jordan developed an ear infection that went untreated for multiple days. DOC staff ignored his pleas for help and clear signs that his condition was rapidly deteriorating. After five days, he was found unresponsive in his cell and was transported to the hospital in a coma. His family made the decision to take him off life support over a month later.  

The lawsuit asserts that DOC acted with deliberate indifference and dismissed serious medical problems as the gatekeeper to medical care for incarcerated Alaskans. The lawsuit requests declaratory relief and damages be paid to the family of Lewis Jordan, Jr.  

“Lewis Jordan died a tragic and preventable death while incarcerated by DOC,” said Zach Warren, attorney at Highlands Law Firm. “DOC staff had multiple opportunities to take action to save Lewis’ life but instead deliberately disregarded his requests for help and the visible signs that his life was fading.” 

While Jordan Jr lay in a coma, DOC officials unilaterally paroled him once it became clear that he would not recover. When he was taken off life support, DOC did not count his death as an “in-custody death.”  

“DOC has failed to take responsibility for medical emergencies that lead to death in its facilities,” said Megan Edge, Prison Project Director for the ACLU of Alaska. “This is a persistent practice that DOC has used to skirt responsibility for the deaths that occur because of its failures to keep people safe and alive. DOC must take accountability for Lewis’ death, and the other Alaskans who died preventable deaths that stemmed from medical emergencies.” 

In 2023, the ACLU of Alaska filed a wrongful death lawsuit against DOC for the death of James Rider, who died while incarcerated in 2022 at Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility. This case is ongoing.  

The American Civil Liberties Union is our nation’s guardian of liberty. For nearly 100 years, the ACLU has been at the forefront of virtually every major battle for civil liberties and equal justice in this country. Principled and nonpartisan, the ACLU works in the courts, legislatures, and communities to preserve and expand the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States. The ACLU of Alaska, founded in 1971, is one of the 53 state ACLU affiliates that strive to make the Bill of Rights real for everyone and to uphold the promise of the Constitution—because freedom can’t protect itself.

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