Erik Ramsey
Erik Ramsey, 29, was held at Harnett Correctional Institution in North Carolina when he died on May 4, 2024. He grew up in Iredell County, and his family, including his stepmother Regina Quick, remembers him as the baby of the family and says they had planned weekly calls with him. The state medical examiner's report found he died by hanging with a sheet tied to his cell door bars, and prison officials said it appears to be a suicide. His stepmother says staff should have checked on him, and a source reports that he had told an officer he needed to talk to someone and the officer said he was busy.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (neglect alleged). The medical examiner's report found he died by hanging with a sheet tied to his cell door bars, and his stepmother says staff should have checked on him after an officer reportedly told him he was busy when he said he needed to talk to someone.
Reported by: Department of Adult Correction officials (the agency that held him); state medical examiner's report (medical examiner or coroner); his stepmother.
Sources (6)
- North Carolina Department of Adult Correction records, via UCLA Law Behind Bars
- Inmate found unresponsive in his cell, prompting death investigation in Harnett County
- With rising inmate suicides, N.C. prisons reevaluate mental health care
- Did prison have to ‘be a death sentence’ for man with mental illness?
- Mentally ill and alone, they die by suicide in prison. Will reforms save others?
- Suicides in North Carolina Prisons Linked to Use of Solitary…and Other News on Solitary Confinement This Week