Joseph Lewis
Joseph Lewis, 81, was the lead plaintiff in a 2015 class action over medical care at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola. The lawsuit says he spent three years asking for treatment for chronic throat pain and received only spray, until visits from his attorneys led to a hospital referral. He was diagnosed with throat cancer more than two months after a biopsy, the lawsuit says, and died within eight months of complications from the disease. In These Times reported the account in December 2016.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). Joseph Lewis's class action lawsuit says he died of throat cancer complications after years of delayed care at Angola, where he got only spray for chronic throat pain until attorneys' visits led to a hospital referral.
Reported by: plaintiffs' class action lawsuit as reported by In These Times (family or their lawyers).