Sean Sawyer
Sean Sawyer had chronic pain and had been taken off pain medication in spring 2015. His sister noticed he was acting differently, and his mother and stepfather had planned to visit him that weekend. On May 30, 2015, at Airway Heights Corrections Center near Spokane, his cellmate pressed the distress button and staff found him in a pool of blood; the Department of Corrections said he had cut his arm with a razor blade, and he was later taken off life support at a hospital. The Department of Corrections said the prison had no record of mental health concerns about him and classified his death as a suicide, while the Spokane County Medical Examiner ruled it undetermined.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed). The Department of Corrections called it a suicide, while the Spokane County Medical Examiner ruled the death undetermined.
Reported by: Department of Corrections (the agency that held him); Spokane County Medical Examiner (medical examiner or coroner).