Family of Longview Woman Who Died in Jail Sues

The family of Amy Lynn Cowling today filed a lawsuit against Gregg County, alleging the inaction of jail officials there led to the death of the 33-year-old mother of three just after Christmas last year.

Cowling died Dec. 29, five days after she was stopped for speeding and arrested for outstanding warrants on minor charges. Autopsy reports show she died from seizures she suffered as a result of withdrawal from methadone and Xanax, drugs the county doctor would not allow inside the jail.

County officials have maintained that Cowling's death was not their fault and that she received medical attention. 

In the lawsuit, the family argues that jail officials violated Cowling's constitutional rights by failing to provide adequate medical care and by showing "callous and conscious" indifference to her quickly deteriorating health conditions.

The lawsuit comes just a day after Gregg County Sheriff Maxey Cerliano reported that another inmate, 30-year-old Micah Aaron Garner, also a methadone addict, died in the jail, becoming the 10th inmate since 2005 to die at the facility.