Earl Lee Johnson
Earl Lee Johnson, 24, died at the Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles, where he was held. The coroner's office concluded he died by hanging and that it was suicide, according to attorney James Orland. His mother's federal lawsuit, which seeks $25 million, says deputies beat him unconscious in September and then hanged him from a bedsheet in his cell, and it accuses them of trying to cover it up. The family's own autopsy found a fractured skull from blunt-force trauma. The sheriff's department said it had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed; neglect alleged). The coroner's office ruled he killed himself by hanging, but his mother's federal lawsuit says deputies beat him unconscious and then hanged him from a bedsheet in his cell, and the family's autopsy found a fractured skull from blunt-force trauma.
Reported by: coroner's office (medical examiner or coroner); family's autopsy (medical examiner or coroner); his mother's federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His mother filed a federal lawsuit over his death, alleging that deputies beat him and hanged him in his cell at Men's Central Jail, and no settlement or award has been reported.