Marion County’s jail remains one of the deadliest in Florida
File photo: Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods speaks as Dunnellon Police Chief Mike McQuaig looks on during the Fallen Officer Memorial Ceremony at the Marion County Commission auditorium at the McPherson Governmental Complex in Ocala, Fla. on Thursday, May 13, 2021. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.
By Jennifer Hunt Murty
Marion County’s jail has experienced one of the highest inmate mortality rates over the last five years compared to any other county jail in the state of Florida, second only to the facility run by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, according to federal in-custody death data and local investigative work.
From 2020-2025, the “Gazette” has obtained public records that reflect at least 40 deaths of people in the custody of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. However, the death toll could be higher if individuals were released from custody when their death was imminent and therefore unreported.
There is reason to believe the number of in-custody deaths at the facility is higher than what the federal government had on record for Marion County.
The Marshall Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that according to its website seeks to create and sustain a sense of urgency about the U.S. criminal justice system, has provided a Florida data set on in-custody deaths to the “Gazette.”
Combined with independent reporting and various locally sourced public records, the “Gazette” has pieced together a much higher number of in-custody deaths than the federal government had on record for Marion County.
One key point for residents to bear in mind: The majority of those being held at the jail are not convicted criminals serving sentences. Rather, county jails are typically holding facilities used primarily to house people who cannot make bail and are awaiting their day in court, or to house people serving sentences of less than one year.
Despite previously reporting that the jail death rate in Marion County is three times the national average over the last two years, there is no evidence that Sheriff Billy Woods or his staff, nor any outside regulatory body, are addressing the issues raised by the reporting and the heartfelt pleas and questions from family members of the deceased.
The “Gazette” has repeatedly reached out to the MCSO, especially to Major Charles McIntosh, who was put in charge of the jail one year ago, about corrective measures. The agency continually refuses to provide any context or explanation for the questionable deaths.
The reporting shows that in 2024, the MCSO fired Mary Coy, a nurse responsible for monitoring Heart of Florida’s compliance with a $14 million health care contract with the sheriff to ensure the jail adhered to the Florida Jail Model Standards.
The MCSO’s medical compliance reporting ceased after Coy was fired. The sheriff neither refilled the position nor continued compliance reporting.
The advocacy group Disability Rights Florida told the MCSO office the agency needed to install grievance boxes in the jail after pointing out medical negligence that led to the death of Myra Ramierez.
Instead of digital kiosks for inmates to submit their concerns, the agency chose to install paper drop boxes last year. The “Gazette” has continually asked to review grievance placed in those boxes and been told by the sheriff’s attorney that there are none.
This month alone, two men, one age 37 and another 51, have died while in custody. The MCSO has declined to provide any information regarding the circumstances of the deaths.
In 2025, there were six MCSO total in-custody deaths reported by the agency:
Maniesa Keaunda Fletcher, March 12
Shemira Trinislynn Haines: April 5
Steve Edward McLellan: April 6
D’montae Shilek Shannon: Sept. 5
Lora L. Tucker, Dec. 13
William Michael Perry: Dec. 26
Death in Custody Reporting Act data does not paint a straightforward picture
The Death in Custody Reporting Act (DCRA), passed by Congress in 2000, requires all states to report information on deaths involving individuals in custody.
“Each quarter, state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as correctional agencies, are obligated to report deaths in custody to the Office of Criminal Justice Grants in compliance with the DCRA,” according to the law.
In Florida, there is no corresponding state law that enforces this in custody death reporting; however, FDLE’s statewide implementation plan states, “All state and local law enforcement agencies within Florida who receive federal grant funding are required to report the death-in-custody data to FDLE’s OCJG (Office of Criminal Justice Grants) on a quarterly basis.”
The Bureau of Justice Assistance has collected this data from each state since 2019, but it has historically not publicly released detailed information about each individual death, instead only disclosing aggregated figures.
Between 2020 and 24, the following individuals have died in-custody of the MCSO. They are listed in alphabetical order by surname:
- Raymond Burroughs
- Jamar Calloway
- Darrell Edward Davidson
- Conrad Andrew Degon
- Dennis Joseph Digenova
- Lamar Nathan Evans
- Joseph Forgione
- Robert Francisco Gonzalez
- Jaquarius Griffin
- Walter J. Johnson
- Paul Zittle
- Joann Lynn Long
- Johnathan Gabirel MacDonald
- Erin Colleen Meadows
- Corey Merchant
- Jacob Oakie
- Timothy Eugene Phelps
- Mayra Ramirez
- Kelly Henry Rayborn
- Jason Sanclemente
- Jackie Shavers
- Ronald Shanks
- Amy Smith
- Sterling Patrick
- Grier Thompson
- Joshua Van
- Juan Valentin
- Wayne Vanderslice
- Michael Watkins
- Lanquantis Washington
- Tyler Allen White
- Scott Whitley III
- Kristopher Kent Winningham
- Patrick Wolfgang
- Raul Zamora
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