Eric Spiwak
Eric Spiwak, 73, died at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina, on May 25, 2020, during a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility. According to a class action lawsuit filed by the ACLU and others, he was the most recent of nine people who died there from the virus. The lawsuit says he was not taken to a hospital until after he had gone into respiratory failure, and that he was pronounced dead the following Monday. The lawsuit alleges that crowded conditions and failed social distancing policies allowed the virus to spread through the prison.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (neglect alleged). The ACLU-led class action lawsuit says Butner staff delayed taking Spiwak to the hospital until after he had respiratory failure, and says crowding and failed social distancing let COVID-19 spread through the prison.
Reported by: his family's lawsuit (ACLU class action) (family or their lawyers).