Billey Jackson
Billey Jackson was 13 years old and held at the Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida. Former wards who knew him describe him as a friend who had older students shielding him from bullies, and his family held a funeral for him in Daytona Beach in 2016. A former ward who buried him, Johnny Walthour, says he saw his friend's swollen belly after a beating in the building known as the White House and has never believed the official explanation. School records list pyelonephritis, a urinary tract infection, as the cause of death, while his family, through his mother's account to his sister Mattie, says he was beaten to death. The death certificate and school records have not been reconciled with these accounts.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed). School records list pyelonephritis, a urinary infection, but a former ward says guards beat him in the White House building, and his mother told his sister Mattie that he was beaten to death.
Reported by: official school records; death certificate; his mother, as told to his sister Mattie (family or their lawyers); a former ward who buried him.
Custody: Serving a sentence.