Jason Rothe
Jason Rothe was 50 years old and was held at the Secure Psychiatric Unit within the Concord men's prison in New Hampshire, where he died in April 2022. Corrections officers carried out an extraction of him from a recreation area. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide. Prosecutors said an officer pressed on his back while he lay face-down, causing asphyxiation, while the defense said the officer's knee was brief and that Jason died of a heart attack. A jury acquitted the former officer in July 2025.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed). The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide; prosecutors say an officer pressed on Rothe's back while he lay face-down, causing asphyxiation, and the defense says the brief knee contact did not cause it and that he died of a heart attack.
Reported by: Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (medical examiner or coroner); prosecutors; defense.