Randy William Stevens
Randy Stevens, 44, a painter and roofer who struggled with alcoholism, died by hanging in May 2014 in a cell at the Lancaster County jail in South Carolina. According to a lawsuit filed on behalf of his estate, a friend had called 911 worried he was suicidal, and officers placed him in an isolated cell far from the guard station. The lawsuit says jail staff did not monitor the live video or conduct required rounds, and that he was not found for about three and a half hours. The sheriff's office said deputies found him hanging and that the State Law Enforcement Division was investigating, and the estate's settlement of $507,500 was reached without any admission of fault by the sheriff's department.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The sheriff's office says Stevens killed himself, but his estate's lawsuit says officers placed him in an isolated cell far from the guard station, did not monitor live video or conduct required rounds, and that he was not found for about three and a half hours.
Reported by: Lancaster County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); Sheriff Barry Faile (the agency that held him); lawsuit filed on behalf of Stevens' estate (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His estate sued over his death and settled for $507,500, with the sheriff's department admitting no fault.