Matthew Hall
Matthew Hall, 31, of Ogden, Utah, was a man his family described as loyal and athletic, and his brother said he seemed to deteriorate once he was jailed. His family said he had paranoid schizophrenia, and he was held at the Weber County Jail while waiting for a bed at the Utah State Hospital. In February 2017 he was placed on suicide watch after injuring himself in his cell, and his family says he should not have been kept alone there. A lawsuit brought by his brother Nathan Hall alleges that staff did not secure his spine after a fall and that his mental health care was inadequate, and the Weber County Sheriff's Office said he was alone in his cell, responsible for his injuries, and that staff responded appropriately. He died at LDS Hospital in Salt Lake City in April 2017.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The Standard-Examiner's review and his brother Nathan Hall's lawsuit describe a self-inflicted injury, but his family says he was not suicidal and that staff should not have kept him alone in a cell, and the lawsuit says staff did not secure his spine after the fall.
Reported by: Standard-Examiner review of police reports, court documents, jail records and hospital records (reporters); Weber County Sheriff's Office (Lt. Nathan Hutchinson) (the agency that held him); Disability Law Center (advocates); Nathan Hall lawsuit (family or their lawyers); Matthew Hall's family (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His family plans a wrongful death lawsuit over his death at the Weber County Jail, and his brother later sued over the care he received, with the former jail medical director denying responsibility and the county seeking dismissal.
Sources (4)
- Inmate dies while waiting for transfer to get mental health care
- Mentally incompetent man waiting months for transfer to Utah State Hospital dies after injuring himself
- Matthew Ryan Hall’s Weber County Jail suicide came with ample warning - Standard-Examiner
- Former Weber jail doctor wants suicide watch death lawsuit dismissed - Standard-Examiner