Marcus Eugene Sutton
Marcus Sutton, 30, was found cold and unresponsive on his bed in his single-man cell at the Special Management Unit in Jackson, Georgia, shortly before 4:30 a.m. in February 2023, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Butts County coroner, Lacey Prue, and an autopsy report said he died from the toxic effects of pyro, a synthetic opioid. His mother, Chantelle Gillespie, said she finds it hard to believe he knowingly took such a dangerous drug, and she asked why he would have taken so much of an unfamiliar substance. A prison nurse had told her he was acting out because of drugs.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose (disputed; neglect alleged). The Butts County coroner ruled the death an overdose from toxic effects of pyro, a synthetic opioid, but his mother says she finds it hard to believe he knowingly took the drug, and a prison nurse told her he was acting out because of drugs.
Reported by: Butts County coroner Lacey Prue (medical examiner or coroner); Georgia Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Atlanta Journal-Constitution (reporters); his mother.