Daughter Of Woman Who Died In Tulsa Jail Talks About Lawsuit

One of the families suing the Tulsa County jail over civil rights violations is speaking publicly about the lawsuit for the first time. The families all have loved ones who died at the jail over the past three years.

Gwendolyn Young was a single mother with three kids and 13 grandkids. She had a history of medical problems and mental illness, but the lawsuit says the jail failed her at every aspect of basic healthcare.

"We miss her a lot and we're frustrated," said her daughter, Deborah Young.

Deborah said she never imagined her mom's death bed would be in jail.

"I just don't want to see this continue, I don't want to see anyone else have to suffer the way my family has suffered," she said.

Deborah joined a civil rights lawsuit against the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office over her mother's death.

7/3/2013 Related Story: Lawsuit Filed Against Tulsa Jail Claims Negligence, Wrongful Death

Gwendolyn Young was arrested for threatening a public official. The lawsuit says the jail knew she had a stroke and heart problems and suffered from bipolar and anxiety disorders that required prescriptions and routine check-ups.

"She, on several occasions, told us that she felt like they were going to hurt her or kill her," Deborah said.

Deborah said she called the jail and was assured her mother was getting good care.

Gwendolyn died from a heart attack in February 2013. The lawsuit claims the medical staff ignored her the day she died, when she complained about lower back and stomach pain and nausea.

"They just didn't care. They didn't give her her medicine, they didn't care about her complaints," Deborah said.

The lawsuit said jail medical staff lied by changing Gwendolyn's records to say she died after the ambulance picked her up, instead of in the jail.

2/9/2013 Related Story: Tulsa County Jail Inmate Dies

It also states a doctor at the jail lied about how many times he visited Gwendolyn.

"They're aware of the abuse, they're aware of the neglect, they're aware of the poor care, the lack of care and, they have been trying to cover it up," Deborah said.

She said she wants the jail to start putting inmates first

"That we actually are caring for them as human beings and not as inmates," she said. "Just because they are in there doesn't mean they don't have people out here who love them and care for them and are waiting for them to come home."

The Tulsa County Sheriff's Office says, "Any death at the jail is extremely unfortunate. We are not in the business of seeing people die, we want to see them live and go on to be productive citizens outside of the jail."

The sheriff's office said it doesn't have a definitive Medical Examiner's report about Young's cause of death. It also said it has not been served yet in this case.

We've never heard back from the jail's healthcare provider about these lawsuits.