Jeremy Kelley
Jeremy Ray Kelley, 44, was the father of two, and his family remembers him as funny, someone who could make them laugh and who shared videos of himself dancing. He collapsed in his dormitory at Trenton Correctional Institution in Edgefield County, South Carolina, on July 20, 2021, and was pronounced dead at 6:40 a.m. The official cause was listed as acute cardiac dysrhythmia, a heart event. A news report, citing surveillance video and a 911 call, says the dorm had no AED, CPR was delayed, and about 65 minutes passed before effective help arrived; his family sued the South Carolina Department of Corrections and settled for more than half a million dollars, and a corrections officer later admitted a failure to act, though no criminal charges followed.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (neglect alleged). The official cause was acute cardiac dysrhythmia, and surveillance video and a 911 call show the dorm had no AED and CPR was delayed, with about 65 minutes passing before effective help arrived, which his family's lawsuit also raises.
Reported by: official cause of death as listed; his family's lawsuit (family or their lawyers); surveillance video and 911 call (reporters).
Lawsuit: His family sued the South Carolina Department of Corrections and settled for more than $500,000.