Jakim Funderburk
Jakim Funderburk, 20, died on March 12, 2017, at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in Portsmouth, Virginia, where he was being held. Jail officials said he hanged himself with a bedsheet. Officials and family members said he had struggled with depression and had attempted suicide before, at a jail in Chesapeake. His family says the facility should have prevented the hanging, and a local NAACP chapter said the jail had failed three people held there who died under questionable circumstances in two years. Jail officials said his mental health appeared to be improving and that he was taking his medication and being evaluated routinely.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (neglect alleged). Jail officials say he hanged himself with a bedsheet, and his family says the facility should have prevented it despite his history of depression and an earlier suicide attempt.
Reported by: Hampton Roads Regional Jail officials (the agency that held him); his family; a local NAACP chapter (advocates).