Early Friday afternoon mother of Hardel Sherell, Del Shea Perry, held a press conference outside the new Minnesota Board of Medical Examiners location, demanding to shutdown MEnD Correctional Care.
After Perry’s 27 year old son was neglected of adequate medical attention in Beltrami County Jail resulting in his death, Perry feels they have broken not only the 8th amendment of equal treatment in correctional facilities, but the oath medical specialists take in valuing the lives of all. 55 investigations are being held amongst inmate deaths that have raised skepticism. Nurses from the Minnesota Nurses Association came forward in solidarity with Perry, saying under no circumstance should an inmate have been left neglected the way Hardel Sherell was, and that Sherell’s treatment was something nurses are trained to treat and was not a fatal condition.
It was determined that Sherell was suffering from Guillain-Barré Syndrome, a treatable illness that may have paralyzed him but when treated “is not a death sentence”, says Del Shea.
She and supporters demand the guards that oversaw Sherell prior to his death be fired, and doctor Tom Leonard, who is the founder, director, and lead doctor of MEnD, who allegedly suggested the nurse spread the word that Sherell’s cause of death was that he swallowed a sock. They also want the state of Minnesota to end all contracts it has with MEnD, as many of the inmate death investigations are within jails that Tom Leonard, founder of MEnD, allegedly oversees.
MEnD currently has low ratings via google and common complaints of disservice. Del Shea Perry, founder of Be Their Voice, demands proper consequences are ensued to those that played a role in the death of her son–and those responsible for the stolen lives of others lost in the hands of Minnesota jails.
Hardel Sherell passed away on the floor of his jail cell after a newly hired nurse practitioner was ordered to oversee Sherell; warned that he faked seizures and paralyzation. Here’s in-depth video footage of the last days Hardel Sherell spent inside his jail cell. BLCK Press founder Georgia Fort worked with Unicorn Riot’s Niko Georgiades and Georgia Fort to break the story showing the harrowing footage of Hardell dying in his jail cell. Video footage below.
At the beginning of October 2021 the Hardel Sherrel Act was passed to create more protections for inmates who request medical attention.