Jonathan Magbie

Jonathan Magbie (1980 – September 24, 2004) was a quadriplegic who died in jail while serving a ten-day sentence for marijuana possession.

Magbie was paralyzed from the neck down after being struck by a drunk driver at the age of four. In 2004, he was charged with marijuana possession after police found a marijuana cigarette and a loaded gun in his car. Although he had never been convicted of a criminal offense and although he required private nursing care for as much as 20 hours a day, Magbie was given a ten-day sentence in the D.C. jail in September 2004 by D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith E. Retchin. He died in city custody four days later.

Magbie's mother, with the help of the ACLU, filed a lawsuit accusing the District government and Greater Southeast Community Hospital of failing to give him proper care.

External links and sources

* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/16/AR2005091602168.html Washington Post column by Colbert I. King]