She was in withdrawal. He was schizophrenic. Both died of neglect in jail, their families say in new lawsuits.

1 month ago 2

The families of two people who died in San Diego jails last year have filed separate civil rights lawsuits in federal court — both accusing the Sheriff’s Office and its private medical contractors of systemic failures they say took the lives of Callen Lines and Corey Dean.

Lines died from drug withdrawal in the Las Colinas women’s jail in May, a day after her arrest. Dean, who suffered from schizophrenia, died two months later in the Vista jail after weeks in solitary confinement.

Both lawsuits, filed last week by attorneys Grace Jun and Danielle Pena, allege staff ignored repeated pleas for help from both.

Lines, 31, was a nursing assistant and mother of two. She started using drugs in 2023 after a traumatic event, her family said. When she was arrested, she had been struggling to get sober.

According to the lawsuit, Lines had suffered a withdrawal-related seizure while in custody just two weeks before her May 11 arrest, requiring emergency treatment.