Husband Of Norman Baker Plans To Refile Federal Lawsuit After Being Dismissed

The husband of a Norman baker who died in the Cleveland County Jail in 2022 plans to refile a federal lawsuit after it was thrown out last month, according to his attorney.

Shannon Hanchett, known by many in Norman as the ‘Cookie Queen,’ died 12 days after being arrested during a mental health crisis.

Daniel Hanchett filed a federal lawsuit earlier this year, claiming his wife’s constitutional rights were violated. Now, a federal judge has ruled there’s not enough evidence for the case to move forward.

“If she'd been in a hospital instead of a jail, she would not be dead right now,” Kate Bierman told News9 after the lawsuit was filed. She said her friend was scared when she was arrested at a cell phone store in November 2022.

The lawsuit naming The Cleveland County Sheriff, the jail’s health care provider and three jail mental health professionals claims Hanchett was never started on psychotropic medication despite the obvious need.

The lawsuit claims that for four days, Hanchett was not evaluated by a physician, nurse or mental health professional.

“Rather, she was left alone in her cell, where she lay naked, in a state of catatonia, scared, confused, and falling deeper into the throes of her mental illness,” the lawsuit said.

Hanchett died from heart failure 12 days after she had been jailed. The state medical examiner also noted hallucinations and severe dehydration as contributing factors to her death.

Last month, Oklahoma City Federal Judge Bernard Jones dismissed the case, saying it failed to provide evidence of deliberate indifference to Hanchette’s serious medical needs. “A negligent failure to provide adequate medical care is not enough to show deliberate indifference,” the judge's ruling said.

“At the time the initial complaint was filed on behalf of Shannon Hanchett’s estate, the Cleveland County Jail and Turn Key Medical had refused to voluntarily provide surveillance video capturing the eleven days Shannon was housed in the facility,” Hanchett’s attorney, Daniel Smolen, told News 9 in a statement. “Now that the video has been produced, albeit under a federal protective order, we have a very clear picture of the torture she endured up to and including her death. The video also shows that the medical records themselves create a false depiction of the care Mrs. Hanchett received.”

“The upcoming Amended Complaint will, for the first time, educate the Court of the horrific treatment by Cleveland County jail staff and Turn Key employees alike and explain how that treatment directly caused Shannon’s completely preventable death,” Smolen said.