John Neville
John Neville, 56, died on December 4, 2019, at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, days after being held at the Forsyth County Jail in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. His son Sean said the family was left feeling that videos of their father gasping for air had not moved the county or its medical contractor. Video shows detention officers holding him face down in a restraint, and he is heard crying out that he could not breathe before he lost consciousness. The medical examiner attributed his death to complications of positional and compressional asphyxia during prone restraint, while a grand jury declined to indict five detention officers, a nurse was indicted, and the family later received a $3 million settlement; the nurse's attorney says she tried to save him.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by staff (disputed; neglect alleged). The medical examiner attributed his death to positional and compressional asphyxia during prone restraint by detention officers, while the family's federal lawsuit says officers and staff mishandled the response and a nurse was indicted; a grand jury declined to indict the five detention officers.
Reported by: Forsyth County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); medical examiner or coroner; his family's federal lawsuit (family or their lawyers); prosecutors.
Lawsuit: His family sued over his death at the Forsyth County Detention Center and received a $3 million settlement.
News reports (5)
- News report
- Nurse indicted in Forsyth County inmate's death
- North Carolina jury indicts nurse in death of incarcerated Black man, jail officers excused
- Why is nurse Michelle Heughins facing charges for the December 2019 prison death of John Neville?
- Family of NC inmate awarded $3 million after he died in custody while hogtied