MEDFORD, Ore.- Jackson County jail faces a lawsuit filed by the family of Benjamin Fager, who died days after hanging himself while imprisoned in Jackson County Jail.
Fager became a Jackson County inmate more than two years ago.
He was accused of sexually abusing two young children.
Just two months after his arrest, the inmate was dead on Jan. 14, 2011, after trying to hang himself on the evening of Jan 9.
Fager's family says his death is the jail's fault.
In an lawsuit filed Jan. 9, 2013, a member of Fager's family claims the jail knew he was depressed.
The lawsuit claims the former war hero was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and both physical and mental problems, after stints in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Fager's family says, being confronted with jail, was too much for Fager to handle.
He threatened Jackson County guards and his lawyer with suicide letters. The lawsuit claims nothing was done.
Oregon law requires jails to take precautions if they know an inmate is suicidal. The lawsuit claims that did not happen in Fager's case.
News 10 asked the Jackson County Sheriff's Office for a comment on this case. A representative said the county has not been served and will not be able to comment, even if it is presented with the lawsuit.
Jackson County counsel also declined to comment, saying it too has yet to be served.
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