Roland Alston
Roland Alston was serving a life sentence at Graterford prison in Pennsylvania. In March 2018 he asked for psychiatric help after saying he felt hopeless and in despair, and according to a legal filing, staff sent him back to his general-population cell without special monitoring or psychiatric treatment. He was found hanging in his cell the next morning, and his family's federal lawsuit, brought by attorney Bill Davis, says he had been diagnosed with depression and paranoid personality disorder and died by suicide. An inmate's letter quoted in The Morning Call describes the staff response as inadequate, and the lawsuit alleges systemic failures by the state Department of Corrections and its contractors.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The family, in a federal lawsuit filed by attorney Bill Davis, says staff returned Roland Alston to his general-population cell without special monitoring or psychiatric treatment after he said he wanted to give up, and an inmate's letter says the staff response was inadequate.
Reported by: family's federal lawsuit (attorney Bill Davis) (family or their lawyers); inmate letter quoted in the article.
Lawsuit: His family sued in federal court over his death at Graterford, alleging systemic failures by the state Department of Corrections and its contractors, and no settlement or award amount was reported.