Dennis Williams
Dennis Williams, a 34-year-old man diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, died in his cell at Columbia Correctional Institution in Lake City, Florida, in 2022. His mother, who said he used to iron her uniform when she worked as a corrections officer, says he was placed with a cellmate with a history of violence who attacked him. The Medical Examiner's Office in Jacksonville ruled the death natural, citing a ruptured dissecting aorta, and the family disputes that finding through a lawsuit and an expert who plans to testify the death was consistent with homicide. The Florida Department of Corrections denies the allegations, and a jury trial was set for March 2026.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (disputed; neglect alleged). The medical examiner ruled the death natural from a ruptured dissecting aorta, but his family's lawsuit says prison staff placed him with a cellmate with a history of violence who killed him, and the Florida Department of Corrections recorded the manner as homicide.
Reported by: Medical Examiner's Office in Jacksonville (medical examiner or coroner); Florida Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Columbia County sheriff's officials (outside investigators); his family and attorney, in their lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: Dennis Williams's mother, Kaytrina Humphrey-Williams, sued the Florida Department of Corrections and several officers over his 2022 death at Columbia Correctional Institution, and a jury trial was set for March 2026.
News reports (4)
- Inmate Mortality, fiscal year 2022-2023
- Columbia Correctional Institute inmate charged with murdering another inmate
- Florida man dies in prison after altercation with violent cellmate, death ruled natural causes
- 'They failed my son': Florida mother continues legal push for accountability after son died in prison cell