John Carter
John Carter, 32, was held in the restricted housing unit at State Correctional Institution Rockview in Centre County, Pennsylvania, when he died on April 26, 2012. According to the prison, he barricaded his cell after a dispute over food, and staff used pepper spray and then breached the door and removed him; he was taken to Mount Nittany Medical Center and pronounced dead. Friends and family remembered him as a basketball player and rap songwriter who helped other people in restricted housing and wrote to his sister about raising her children. His family, through his sister Michelle Williams, calls his death a homicide and has filed a private criminal complaint with the Centre County district attorney. The state police said the investigation does not indicate foul play at this time, and the cause of death was reported as undetermined pending toxicology reports.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed). His sister calls his death a homicide after staff pepper-sprayed him and removed him from his cell, prisoners say staff also used electroshock weapons, and state police found no foul play while the cause remains undetermined pending toxicology.
Reported by: Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Pennsylvania State Police (outside investigators); Carter's sister, Michelle Williams (family or their lawyers); prisoners at SCI Rockview (witnesses); Human Rights Coalition (advocates).