TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on Apr 1, 2025

A 36-year-old Shelby County Jail inmate, Courtney Berry, was discovered "unresponsive in a restroom" Sunday morning, according to a statement from the Shelby County Sheriff's Office to the Commercial Appeal. "Lifesaving measures were taken by staff members and Memphis Fire Department paramedics," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "A pre-existing medical condition may have played a part in the event." The investigation into Berry's death is ongoing. He was arrested without bond while a petition by state prosecutors to revoke his suspended sentence was pending. He previously had been convicted of criminal attempt to possess a firearm while being a convicted felon. Berry's death is at least the fifth so far this year. In early February, four inmates died within a week.