The mother of a former inmate who died in a state prison has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the state of Oregon and Oregon Department of Corrections officials, alleging staffers failed to provide mental health care before he died. The lawsuit, filed this month in U.S. District Court in Portland, alleges a series of shortcomings in the corrections agency leading up to the death of the inmate, Grayson James-Allen Painter. Painter, 22, died on June 29, 2023, in a segregation unit at Oregon State Correctional Institution. A corrections officer found he had killed himself in his cell, the lawsuit said. Get help This story mentions suicide. If you or a loved one are suffering from thoughts of self-harm, dial 988 or visit 988lifeline.org to live chat with a mental health professional. The lawsuit comes as the Oregon Department of Corrections is under scrutiny for its health care in a dozen facilities that have about 12,000 inmates statewide. Two of the agency’s top health care system administrators are on leave amid an investigation and other systemic problems, like a backlog of medical appointments and inadequate care have surfaced in the last year.  Jennifer Painter, the inmate’s mother who lives in New Jersey, filed the lawsuit with representation from Juan Chavez, an attorney with the Oregon Justice Resource Center, a nonprofit advocacy organization that focuses on prison reforms. This lawsuit traces Painter’s short journey in the state corrections agency, which started on May 24, 2023 and ended with his death a little more than a month later. The case, drawn from his medical records and other documents, alleges that the agency was negligent in its care of Painter and responsible for his death.  “The state of Oregon’s negligence and deliberate indifference in failing to properly address and monitor Mr. Painter’s disabilities caused his death,” the lawsuit says. Amber Campbell, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Corrections, declined to comment on the lawsuit. On May 4, Painter was booked in Washington County jail on a probation violation. Court records show he violated probation by resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, when he was on probation for a 2022 conviction for felony assault on a peace officer. Court records also show Painter was homeless and showed signs of mental health challenges in interactions with police officers. In the nearly three weeks leading up to his transfer to prison, Painter was on suicide watch at the jail, the lawsuit said. When Painter entered the corrections system, his medical notes recorded at the Coffee Creek Intake Center, where new inmates arrive, and prior medical records showed he had a history of suicidal thoughts and psychosis, including hallucinations, the lawsuit said.  Painter also told staff he had increased hallucinations and delusions when put in segregated holding cells, which limits inmate contact with others. Records show Painter told a behavioral health worker about two suicide attempts he made while at the Washington County jail.  On June 28, 2023, the agency transferred Painter to the Oregon State Correctional Institution, a 888-bed medium security facility three miles east of Salem. The next morning, a behavioral health services evaluator noted Painter denied thoughts of suicide but also was “irritable, confused and a bit manic” and said he planned to stop taking his medication. Prison staff took him to the disciplinary segregation unit to provide a urine sample because they believed his erratic behavior was due to drugs, the lawsuit said. During his transfer to the unit, prison staff saw Painter banging his head on the metal side of his cell and threatened to pepper spray him instead of offering care, the lawsuit said. Inmates in the same segregation unit reported they heard correctional officers taunt Painter and yell at him that he should kill himself, the lawsuit said. An inmate offered Painter a book to read and tried to console him, but Painter, weeping, said he “won’t be around much longer,” the lawsuit said. When staffers made two separate checks of Painter in his cell, they noted erratic behavior, including throwing water around, the lawsuit said. Staff also noticed the security camera for his cell stopped working. “There is no indication that ODOC staff tried to engage with Mr. Painter, provide him with any care, check on Mr. Painter, or fix the camera in his cell after it stopped working,” the lawsuit said. At 6:55 p.m., a staffer making a check found Painter unconscious. Staff placed him on the floor with his feet shackled, the lawsuit said. He was declared dead at 7:30 p.m. after efforts to resuscitate him failed.  His urinalysis test came back negative for drugs. “Even the remote possibility of Mr. Painter using illegal substances was evidence enough for ODOC staff to deliberately choose to deny him life-saving mental health treatment and dismiss Mr. Painter’s mental suffering and anguish,” the lawsuit said. “Whether Mr. Painter’s psychosis was drug-induced or not, he was displaying symptoms of severe mental health crisis that required immediate intervention from a trained behavioral health provider — intervention that ODOC is simply unequipped or unwilling to offer.” The lawsuit accuses the agency’s staff of failure to properly care for him, assess his condition and properly monitor him for possible suicide. The lawsuit also accuses the state of abusing a vulnerable person.  The lawsuit seeks punitive damages and attorney fees, with the amount determined after a trial.  Oregon Capital Chronicle is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oregon Capital Chronicle maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Lynne Terry for questions: [email protected]. Follow Oregon Capital Chronicle on Facebook and Twitter. STORY TIP OR IDEA? Send an email to Salem Reporter’s news team: [email protected]. The post Mother of deceased Oregon inmate files wrongful death lawsuit against agency  appeared first on Salem Reporter.