Renell Wooten
Renell Wooten, 39, was a man his sister Denise Spencer and nephew Dennis Mursier describe as a loved member of the family, who wrote to his niece, Jameelah Covington, his sons and his family, and Covington said he was coming home in four months. He was held at the U.S. Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, where he died on April 5, 2015, about four months before his scheduled release. The Bureau of Prisons said the autopsy found death by hanging and that he died by suicide, and Spencer said the assistant warden told her he had hanged himself. His family disputes that he took his own life, saying he had written of fear for his safety and had reported being set up to be hurt by staff. The FBI is investigating his death, and that investigation is ongoing.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed). The Bureau of Prisons says he died by hanging, while his family disputes suicide, saying he wrote of fear for his safety and reported being set up to be hurt by staff, and the FBI is investigating.
Reported by: Bureau of Prisons spokesperson Shawn Barlett (the agency that held him); Assistant warden at USP Lewisburg (the agency that held him); FBI (outside investigators); his sister Denise Spencer (family or their lawyers).