Dewey McVay, Jr.
Dewey McVay, Jr. was loved, and his sister Patricia Maxwell said he did not deserve to die the way he did. He was held at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, where his family's legal team says state employees assaulted him while moving him to another cell and that medical staff did not follow a doctor's recommendation for a head CT scan. Officers Clinton Woodard-Hinton and Tory Miller told investigators they used hammer-fist blows to subdue him on December 2, 2019. Reports say that on December 15 he told a nurse he thought he had the flu and was offered cough syrup; staff later found him unresponsive, and he died on December 20 at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center. The coroner determined the cause of death was blunt force injuries to the head, and the state agreed to pay $225,000 to settle the estate's lawsuit, while the county prosecutor declined to bring charges.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed; neglect alleged). The coroner attributed his death to blunt force injuries to the head, and officers Woodard-Hinton and Miller told investigators they used hammer-fist blows to subdue him, while witnesses said he banged his own head and the county prosecutor declined charges; his family's lawsuit says state employees assaulted him during a cell move and that medical staff did not follow a doctor's recommendation for a head CT scan, and that he was left unresponsive on his cell floor before staff called an ambulance.
Reported by: Officers Clinton Woodard-Hinton and Tory Miller (the agency that held him); Coroner's office (medical examiner or coroner); His family's legal team and estate lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Witnesses held at the facility (witnesses); USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau (reporters); County prosecutor.
Lawsuit: His estate sued the state over his death and the state agreed to pay $225,000 to settle the lawsuit.