'Tortured To Death:' Federal Lawsuit Claims Cleveland Co. Detention Officers, Turn Key Health Denied Medical Care, Falsified Records

A federal lawsuit filed this week claims Cleveland County Detention Officers and Turn Key Health denied medical care, falsified records, and stood idly by as an inmate spiraled into a medical crisis and died in 2022.

“Most disturbing is the number of people who could have done anything to prevent her death but failed to do anything to help her,” said Daniel Smolen, attorney for Daniel Hanchett, Shannon Hanchett’s husband.      

In August a federal judge dismissed a civil suit citing insufficient evidence that showed jail staff were deliberately indifferent.

Shannon Hanchett's time in jail, which was captured on video is painstakingly detailed in a new 73-page suit.

Shannon Hanchett, a mother, wife, and beloved bakery owner had no criminal history — until an incident at a Norman business that led to her arrest in November 2022.

Hanchett was transported to the Cleveland County Detention Center where she died 12 days later.

“If she had been in a hospital instead of a jail she would not be dead right now,” said Kate Bierman, Hanchett’s friend.

Hanchett suffered from lupus and bipolar disorder, and according to the lawsuit, entered the jail under visible mental duress that was exacerbated by the conditions she was placed in, and lack of care. The suit says on Day One she was observed on video talking to herself or the wall for hours on end, pacing, and never sleeping.

“You can’t house people in the United States in an 8 ft by 6 ft cement cell with no water, no toilet, leave the lights on for 24 hours a day, no bed and leave a person there, anybody would lose their mind,” said Smolen. 

The suit alleges Hanchett sat in a holding cell where she was “forced to urinate on the floor” and “lie in her own waste.”

Her attorney says on day 9, video shows Hanchett holding an empty cup and showing it to a camera.

“There's time in the video you see her begging for water,” said Smolen. 

The suit alleges after 10 days a Turn Key Health Services nurse falsified a document stating Hanchett refused to have her vital signs taken. 

The lawsuit also says Hanchett eventually lost the ability to stand and was mocked.

“I don’t think anyone in our country believes anyone housed in a county jail for any reason should be tortured to death,” said Smolen.