Adrienne Boulware
Adrienne Boulware, 47, was the mother of four children and grandmother of 12, and her daughter Michela Nelson said she had complained for years of exhaustion from summer heat and was "so close to coming home." She was held at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, and the California Coalition for Women Prisoners says she waited about 15 minutes outdoors for her medication with little water during a heat wave and lockdown, then became ill and collapsed. She was taken to an outside medical facility and died on July 6, 2024. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation says her death was related to a pre-existing health condition, not heat, while her family says staff told them she died of heat stroke and that the death could have been prevented. The Madera County coroner ruled the death undetermined, saying her rising body temperature may have been secondary to seizure activity, and the family is seeking an independent autopsy.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined (disputed; neglect alleged). CDCR says she died of a preexisting medical condition, not heat, and the Madera County coroner has ruled the cause undetermined, possibly secondary to seizure activity, while her family and the California Coalition for Women Prisoners say heat and delayed care caused the death, with advocates saying she waited about 15 minutes outdoors for medication with little water and staff responded slowly.
Reported by: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (the agency that held her); Madera County coroner's office (medical examiner or coroner); Adrienne Boulware's family (family or their lawyers); California Coalition for Women Prisoners (advocates).
News reports (5)
- Incarcerated Women Plead for Help After Central Valley Prison Death Amid Extreme Heat
- A California inmate died during the heat wave. What do state prison conditions look like?
- ‘Like an oven’: death at US women’s prison amid heatwave sparks cries for help
- Black woman dies in California prison from heat over 110 degrees
- Families of Victims Who Died From Heat in Prison Fight to Prevent More Deaths