Adam Lafferty
Adam Lafferty was 40 years old and from Clyde, New York. His family says he stood up for his rights and kept fighting mistreatment in court, and his brother, Justin Baird, said, "He was smart. He left clues for his family." He was found dead in his cell at Five Points Correctional Facility in Romulus on December 23, 2024. According to his family, weeks earlier he had written to a federal judge saying he had been beaten, denied medical care and threatened by his cellmate, and he had asked to be moved to protective custody. Baird says a New York State Police investigator told him the death is being treated as a homicide, with a lace, possibly from a shoe, wrapped tightly around his neck, while the Seneca County District Attorney and the state Attorney General's Office say the death is under investigation.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (disputed; neglect alleged). His brother Justin Baird says state police told him the death is being treated as a homicide by a ligature, and his family says Adam had written to a federal judge that he was threatened by his cellmate and denied medical care and protective custody; the Attorney General's Office lists it as an assault by another incarcerated person, while the Seneca County District Attorney calls the investigation pending.
Reported by: Justin Baird, his brother (family or their lawyers); New York State Office of the Attorney General, Office of Special Investigation (outside investigators); Seneca County District Attorney (outside investigators).