Charleston County jail medics twice said a dialysis patient needed the ER; he died there
Julian Jenkins, 50, was booked into Charleston County's Al Cannon Detention Center in March 2023 on a three-year-old bench warrant for stealing a $97 vacuum cleaner. He had late-stage kidney failure requiring dialysis and congestive heart failure, and was placed in the jail infirmary run by contractor Wellpath LLC. Staff noted on March 10 that he was unstable and recommended an emergency-room transfer, and repeated the recommendation three days later; he was not sent and was found unresponsive and died the next morning. His estate sued the county and then-Sheriff Kristin Graziano alleging inadequate medical care and deliberate indifference. A federal court approved a $280,000 settlement paid by Charleston County on December 23, 2025, finalized in June 2026. Wellpath's bankruptcy capped its exposure. A DOJ investigation into the jail opened in 2023 has stalled.
According to court documents, two days after his arrest, doctors noted Jenkins was unstable and recommended he be sent to an emergency room.
Under a settlement reached in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston County agreed to pay $280,000 to resolve claims filed by the Estate of Julian Jenkins
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