Phillip Chance
Phillip Chance was 59 and had family in Detroit, including two daughters who wanted to care for him in Michigan. Over decades in Alabama prisons he earned a GED and a theology degree, and his supporters said he had no disciplinary record. He had serious heart and other health problems, and his family sought a medical furlough to Michigan, which the Alabama Department of Corrections refused. He died in an Alabama prison in November 2016, and the Equal Justice Initiative reported that after a recent outside hospital visit he was not allowed to stay, though his medical records indicated he needed hospitalization.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined (neglect alleged). Supporters say the Alabama Department of Corrections refused his family's request for a medical furlough and did not keep him after an outside hospital visit, even though his medical records indicated he needed hospitalization.