Eddie Shorty
Eddie Shorty, 57, died in May 2018 while held at South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Leakesville, Mississippi. According to The Guardian, he had asked officers for weeks to move him away from his cellmate, and he was later moved to a separate part of the prison for his safety. People held at the prison told reporters that they heard him screaming for help the night before he died and that no one came for hours. The state medical examiner's office reported blunt force injuries with strangulation, while the Mississippi Department of Corrections said at the time that the cause would be determined by autopsy. The department declined to discuss the death because the case remains open.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (neglect alleged). The state medical examiner's office found blunt force injuries with strangulation, while inmates say staff did not come for hours after they heard him screaming for help, and he reportedly begged officers for weeks to move away from his cellmate.
Reported by: state medical examiner's office (medical examiner or coroner); inmates.