Jail Captain Denied Immunity, Jury Awards $4M in Inmate Suicide Lawsuit

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 expressing suicidal thoughts. Despite this, jail officials failed to initiate suicide watch protocols or consult mental health professionals in a timely manner. He was left unmonitored for extended periods. At approximately 10:22 p.m., Maes used a privacy curtain to hang himself. His body was not discovered until the following morning.

Failure of Duty and Institutional Oversight

The lawsuit revealed that jail staff did not conduct mandatory welfare checks and that one deputy falsified logs to conceal this failure. Surveillance footage contradicted official reports. Captain Kenneth Wilson was found to have had knowledge of Maes’s deteriorating mental state but failed to take any preventive