James Hall
James Hall, 39, had sleep apnea and needed a CPAP machine at night, but the device did not come with him into the Monterey County Jail. He asked for one more than once, and Erick Stewart, a fellow man held there, said Hall told him those requests were ignored; the two had studied the Bible together through their cell windows. On April 7, 2023, Hall collapsed in his cell. Neutral monitors found the jail out of compliance with his care in seven areas and gave the cause as cardiac arrhythmia followed by multiple organ failure, while the jail's lawyers claimed he died of a drug overdose, a claim Stewart disputed in court testimony, saying Hall never mentioned access to drugs and no one gave him Narcan. His mother, Silvia Hall, called him a wonderful kid and said she talks to him all the time.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). Neutral monitors say he died of cardiac arrhythmia and multiple organ failure, while lawyers for the jail claim an overdose that his cellmate disputed in court testimony, and the jail denied his repeated requests for a CPAP machine.
Reported by: neutral monitors; lawyers for the Monterey County Jail (the agency that held him); his cellmate.