Samuel Lawrence
Samuel Lawrence, 34, died on August 26, 2023, at Grady Memorial Hospital, after deputies found him unresponsive in his cell at the Fulton County Jail. His father, Frank Richardson, says he thinks about his son every day and wants justice and meaningful change at the jail. Investigators say a cellmate strangled him, and an autopsy report from the Fulton County Medical Examiner lists strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head, neck, chest, legs and arms as causes. Before his death, Lawrence filed complaints alleging excessive force by deputies, improper psychiatric treatment, and isolation with insufficient food and water, and his family says he had raised concerns with staff and with others held there. The sheriff has attributed violence at the jail to overcrowding and dilapidated facilities.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (disputed; neglect alleged). Officials say his cellmate killed him in an overcrowded jail, while Lawrence's own complaints before his death alleged physical abuse by staff and improper psychiatric treatment, and his family says he had complained of deputy violence and is considering a lawsuit.
Reported by: Fulton County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); Fulton County Medical Examiner (medical examiner or coroner); his family; Lawrence's own complaints to federal officials (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His family said they were considering a lawsuit over his death at the Fulton County Jail, and no settlement or award amount is reported in these sources.
News reports (6)
- A fourth inmate has died in this problematic jail's custody this month
- Autopsies spotlight mental health crisis at Fulton County Jail
- Autopsy rules Fulton County inmate death a homicide
- Family wants answers in inmate's stabbing death
- 10 inmates have died in the overcrowded Fulton County Jail in Atlanta
- We studied jail conditions and jail deaths − here’s what we found