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Died in jail or a lockup

Sean Levert

39 years old · died March 30, 2008 · Cuyahoga County Corrections Center, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Sean Levert, a 39-year-old singer with the 1980s R&B group LeVert and the son of O'Jays singer Eddie Levert, collapsed while held at the Cuyahoga County Jail in Cleveland on March 30, 2008, and died at Lutheran Hospital. A Cuyahoga County coroner ruled his death natural, citing complications of sarcoidosis along with heart disease and alprazolam withdrawal. Jail officials said guards restrained him in a chair after he began pounding on his cell door, but his family disputed that account and asked for an FBI investigation. His widow, Angela Lowe, sued, saying he was denied his prescribed anti-anxiety medication and not seen by a doctor, and the case settled in 2010 for $4 million without an admission of liability.

Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The coroner ruled his death natural, citing sarcoidosis, heart disease and alprazolam withdrawal, while his widow's attorneys say he was denied his prescribed alprazolam and not seen by a doctor, and his family disputes the jail's account of his restraint and asked for an FBI investigation.

Reported by: Cuyahoga County Coroner Frank Miller (medical examiner or coroner); Lutheran Hospital nursing supervisor; his widow Angela Lowe and her attorneys (family or their lawyers).

Lawsuit: His widow, Angela Lowe, sued Cuyahoga County and a medical staffing company, and the parties settled in June 2010 for $4 million without an admission of liability.

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