Jason Stephens
Jason Stephens was 38 and lived with sickle cell disease, which caused him extreme pain, as well as years of struggle with mental illness. He was held at the Joliet Treatment Center, an Illinois prison that treats people with serious mental illness, when a fire broke out in his locked cell in July 2024. According to WBEZ, guards left the area before he was pulled out unconscious about half an hour later, and his ambulance was held at the prison gate for nearly 28 minutes. He died about two weeks later in a Chicago-area hospital, and the medical examiner listed the cause as complications of inhalation injuries from a mattress fire. His family's attorney says staff left him in the smoke-filled cell instead of getting him out.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). The medical examiner lists complications of inhalation injuries from a mattress fire, and Jason Stephens's family's attorney says staff left him in the smoke-filled cell instead of getting him out, which the family disputes.
Reported by: medical examiner or coroner; family's attorney (family or their lawyers).