Deaths in Custody
Died in prison

Erik Carlson

29 years old · died January 25, 2025 · LaSalle Correctional Center, Harris Parish, Louisiana

Erik Carlson, 29, of Houston, died in January 2025 while held at LaSalle Correctional Center in Olla, Louisiana, to which Harris County had transferred him from its jail. His mother, Kim Carlson Lewis, says he repeatedly asked for medical help and was denied it by staff, and that she learned of his death only when the Harris County chaplain contacted her. A federal lawsuit filed by his family alleges that staff ignored his worsening strep throat infection and his cellmates' warnings until he was sent to an emergency room, where he went into cardiac arrest. An autopsy found he died of a peritonsillar abscess caused by strep throat; the sheriff's office called it a natural result of an aggressive infection, and the lawsuit's account of his care is disputed.

Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The Harris County Sheriff's Office calls the death a natural result of an aggressive infection, but the family's federal lawsuit says staff ignored his worsening strep throat and his cellmates' warnings until he suffered cardiac arrest.

Reported by: Harris County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); autopsy; family's federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers).

Lawsuit: His family filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Harris County and LaSalle Correctional Center failed to provide adequate medical care, and no settlement or award amount has been reported.

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