A federal lawsuit filed by the family of a diabetic man who died last year in the Knox County jail alleges he went without medication or blood-sugar monitoring for three days, despite receiving treatment for the condition during a previous stay at the jail.
46-year-old Justin E. Main died May 31, 2025, three days after he was booked in the jail for violating conditions of his pre-trial release in several criminal proceedings.
Main’s adult daughters filed the nine-count lawsuit on May 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois.
It brings federal civil rights claims and Illinois wrongful-death and survival-act claims related to Main’s death. Named as defendants are the county, Sheriff Jack Harlan Jr., Advanced Correctional Healthcare, a jail nurse, the jail intake officer, and other jail employees.
This week, a federal judge set discovery deadlines for next year and scheduled a jury trial for 2028.
The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages.
The lawsuit alleges jail staff failed to provide adequate medical care for Main’s diabetes, contributing to his death. It also alleges the sheriff’s office continued using Advanced Correctional Healthcare, the private company providing medical care at the jail, despite what the plaintiffs say is a pattern of understaffing facilities and delaying care to cut costs.
The plaintiffs cite a 2017 lawsuit over a detainee’s death at the Knox County jail that resulted in a $500,000 settlement with the county, as well as other cases in Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio.
In their responses to the complaint, the county, Harlan, and jail employees deny knowing that Main required diabetes treatment when he was detained at the jail in May 2025. They acknowledge his intake form documented diabetes and his jail file contained December 2024 records documenting his diabetes and treatment.
Advanced Correctional Healthcare and the jail nurse, in their responses, deny allegations they failed to provide adequate care. The jail’s intake officer denied knowing Main had a medical condition requiring treatment or monitoring.
All defendants deny liability for Main’s death.
Advanced Correctional Healthcare and the jail nurse had asked the court to strike the plaintiffs’ statement that Main’s death was preventable. A federal magistrate judge denied the motion.
On the morning of Main’s death, deputies delivering breakfast said Main shook his head no when asked if he wanted milk with his cereal, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit claims body camera footage shows Main was already too impaired to respond. He was found in his cell around 6:12 a.m. gray, sweating, and barely conscious.
A nurse called for an ambulance and learned Main had no medication record on file, the lawsuit says.
His blood sugar was later measured at 940. He died that day at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria. The cause of death was listed was hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome from Type 2 diabetes.
TSPR contacted Harlan for comment on the lawsuit. This story will be updated if a comment is received.
