On February 6, 2025, 74-year-old Lester Isbill, a retired pastor with health issues including a pacemaker and dementia, died after being restrained for over nine hours in a chair, mostly hooded, at the Monroe County Justice Center in Madisonville, Tennessee. Isbill was arrested for disorderly conduct after becoming disoriented at a finance office and refusing medical treatment despite high blood pressure and low oxygen levels.

At the jail, he fell, struck his head, and was placed in a restraint chair without his cane, food, water, or bathroom breaks. Video footage shows him yelling and incoherent, with his hands turning purple from poor circulation. He became unresponsive around 11:15 p.m., and despite attempts to revive him, he was pronounced dead at Blount Memorial Hospital from heart disease and hypertension, with the death ruled natural.

His daughter, Windy Duncan, who protested at the Justice Center, and attorney Tyler Weiss, who is investigating a potential lawsuit, argue Isbill should have been taken to a hospital, not jail, given his condition. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation closed its case, and no criminal charges were filed against jail staff.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is preparing a statement but has not clarified why Isbill was not hospitalized.