Robert Sharp
Robert Sharp, 36, died in March 2015 at the Cuyahoga County Jail in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother, Linda Ruffin, says she was told he overdosed on heroin that had been smuggled into the jail, and that staff placed him in solitary confinement instead of taking him to a hospital for treatment. His aunt, Jacqueline Jackson, also said he was put in solitary rather than taken to a hospital, and that he left five children behind. The medical examiner recorded the cause of death as accidental overdose, and the family says many questions about the circumstances remain unanswered.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of an overdose (disputed; neglect alleged). The medical examiner ruled it an accidental overdose, but his aunt Jacqueline Jackson and his mother Linda Ruffin say he was put in solitary confinement instead of being taken to a hospital, and his family has many unanswered questions about the circumstances.
Reported by: medical examiner or coroner; Jacqueline Jackson, his aunt (family or their lawyers); Linda Ruffin, his mother (family or their lawyers).