TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Azya Thornton on Apr 23, 2026

The death of a Shelby County Jail inmate last year was caused by a drug overdose, according to an official autopsy report. According to the Daily Memphian, Marcel Hutton was found unresponsive around 7 p.m. CST Dec. 21 and was pronounced dead less than an hour later. Hutton was one of 13 inmates who died at the jail in 2025. He was in custody on a second-degree murder charge related to a 2024 shooting in his Millington home. According to reports, his cellmate said Hutton had been smoking K2 liquid, a form of synthetic marijuana, prior to his death. It remains unclear how drugs and other contraband entered the jail, though guards have been charged with smuggling items inside in the past.