Joseph Payton
Joseph Payton, 32, was held at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud, a state prison, where he had asthma. His mother said he told staff he could not breathe while in segregation and received treatments, and that guards found him unresponsive around 4 a.m. on June 26, 2013; he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead the next day. The Ramsey County medical examiner's preliminary results point to a natural death from asthma, while his family questions whether earlier checks or a move out of solitary could have saved him. His mother later sued, alleging prison staff denied him proper medical care, and the state settled without admitting wrongdoing; he is survived by his five children, brothers, a sister, his mother and his girlfriend.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The Ramsey County medical examiner's preliminary results point to a natural death from asthma, while his mother, Rhonda Payton, says he told staff he could not breathe in segregation and that staff did not give proper medical care, and her wrongful death lawsuit was later settled by the state without an admission of wrongdoing.
Reported by: Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office (medical examiner or coroner); Minnesota Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Rhonda Payton, his mother, and her wrongful death lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His mother, Rhonda Payton, sued the state over his death, alleging prison staff denied him proper medical care, and the state settled for $230,000 without admitting wrongdoing.