Edgar H. Smith Jr.
Edgar H. Smith Jr. worked as a truck driver and served in the U.S. Armed Forces, according to his funeral home's obituary, and while in prison he took college courses, taught himself the law and wrote books, including a novel loosely based on his own life. He died on March 20, 2017, at age 83, in a prison hospital in Vacaville, California, where he had lived for years with diabetes and heart disease, according to the funeral home and The Washington Post. His death went largely unnoticed until The Washington Post reported it in September 2017. A funeral home representative said his ashes were probably scattered at sea.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness. The Washington Post reported that he had suffered from diabetes and heart disease for several years, and a funeral home said he had lived for years with those conditions in a prison hospital.
Reported by: The Washington Post (reporters); Evins Funeral Home.