Case Overview

Sarah Lieberenz filed a federal civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 following the death of her son, Jackson Maes, by suicide at the Saguache County Jail in Colorado on November 16, 2019. The complaint alleged violations of the Fourteenth Amendment, claiming that jail officials disregarded clear and urgent signs of Maes’s suicidal condition. Among the named defendants were Captain Kenneth Wilson, various jail staff members, and county officials. The U.S. District Court permitted claims against Wilson to proceed, and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals later affirmed that decision.

Circumstances of the Incident

Jackson Maes was arrested while intoxicated and placed in a single-occupancy cell. During his detention, he exhibited clear signs of a mental health crisis—banging his head against the wall and verbally