Billy Bingham
Billy Bingham was a Marine veteran from Gaston County, a son and brother who worked for his father's electronics company, according to his family. His brother Jay remembers him as a man with a big heart who would stop to help anyone stranded on the road. He was held at Albemarle Correctional Institution, where he died in August 2020, and his death certificate lists pneumonia and COVID-19 as the causes. Reporting says prison officials initially did not acknowledge that he had the virus, and his family says they were never told he had been hospitalized. In March 2021 the state changed its COVID-19 death count for Albemarle to include a man matching his profile.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The death certificate lists pneumonia and COVID-19, but the family says prison officials initially did not acknowledge he had the virus and that they were never told he had been hospitalized.
Reported by: death certificate; North Carolina Department of Public Safety (the agency that held him); Billy Bingham's family (family or their lawyers).