It was at 8:25 a.m. March 31, 2013, that a deputy coroner pronounced Matthew Konscler, 21, dead in his Schuylkill County prison cell.

Four days before, Konscler had begun a three- to 18-month sentence after pleading guilty to possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.A coroner's inquest held March 31, 2014, determined that Konscler died of multiple drug toxicity due to neglect, and that he had ingested heroin less than eight hours before he died.On March 24, 2015, Matthew Konscler's mother, Sherry Konscler, filed a federal lawsuit seeking in excess of $150,000 plus damages, costs and fees from each of the 16 defendants she believes contributed to her son's death.Now, almost one year later, the suit continues to wend its way through the U.S. District Court in Scranton.Sherry Konscler contends her son, 21-year-old Matthew Konscler, died because prison and medical staff failed to properly monitor him as he was being weaned from heroin, alcohol and other drugs."As a result of the deliberate indifference to Matthew Konscler's constitutional rights and negligence on the part of the defendants … Matthew Konscler died of a drug overdose while an inmate at the Schuylkill County Prison on March 31, 2013," the suit says.Efforts to reach county commissioners' chairman and prison board chairman George F. Halcovage Jr. for comment were unsuccessful.The suit contends Matthew Konscler's civil rights to Fourth, Eighth and 14th amendments were violated.The Fourth Amendment includes the right against unreasonable searches and seizures. The 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law, and the Eighth Amendment protects against cruel and unusual punishment."As a result of the death of Matthew Konscler, his estate has been deprived of the economic value of decedent's life during the period of his life expectancy," the suit states.Konscler is asking for a jury trial.The 34-page suit contends prison medical staff and correctional officers failed to properly monitor Matthew Konscler as he went through detoxification to wean him from heroin, alcohol, Xanax and Percocet. He ingested heroin and other contraband substances while in his cell, according to the suit.It names the county; its prison board; Warden Eugene Berdanier; PrimeCare Medical; medical assistant Shannon McShaw; licensed practical nurses Tara Hamm, Barbara Bright and Christine Matz; nurse practitioner Paula Dillman-McGowan; and three unidentified nurses; correctional officer Robert Murton; and three unidentified correctional officers.Matthew Konscler, 21, the father of a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old, had been sentenced on March 20, 2013, and began his sentence at 9 a.m. March 27, 2013.He was taken to the medical unit for medical processing the next day. He was seen by McShaw, who worked at the prison once every three months.Konscler told her he used alcohol and Xanax heavily, and was addicted to heroin and Percocet.Matz ordered a detox regimen that included Tylenol with codeine, and Librium.Konscler was "not examined by a physician at any time during his stay" at the jail, the suit says.The suit contends that prison staff failed to keep a close eye on Konscler to make sure he didn't hide and "hoard" the medications he was given, and that he didn't get contraband drugs from other inmates.The suit also faults the prison's policies and procedures for failing to be effective in preventing the possession and distribution of contraband.