Larry McCollum
Not found on the Texas Attorney General’s published list of deaths in custody.
Larry McCollum, a 58-year-old cab driver from the Waco area, was held at the Hutchins State Jail near Dallas in July 2011, when temperatures in the state's cellblocks were extreme. His daughter Stephanie Kingrey said he was eager to get through his time and reunite with his wife and two children, and that he had been relatively healthy despite hypertension. According to the autopsy, he died of heat stroke, and his body temperature was reported at 109.4 degrees Fahrenheit when he reached the hospital. His family and the Texas Civil Rights Project sued Texas prison officials, who said they would appeal a federal judge's ruling that the case should go to trial, and the lawsuit says the state knew about heat dangers in its cellblocks.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff. The autopsy attributed Larry McCollum's death to heat exposure, his family's wrongful death lawsuit says state prison officials knew about heat dangers in the cellblocks, and U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison wrote that the death was preventable because of inadequate policies, including the lack of air conditioning.
Reported by: autopsy; Larry McCollum's family and their wrongful death lawsuit (family or their lawyers); U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison (court).
Custody: Serving a sentence.
Lawsuit: His family and the Texas Civil Rights Project filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Texas prison officials in June 2012, and the case was pending with no settlement amount reported.