Terrance Jenkins
Terrance Jenkins was held at Pontiac Correctional Center in Illinois, where he had severe glaucoma that left his vision irreversibly reduced and joint disease that required a lower bunk. On October 4, 2015, guards were involved in a confrontation with him over a rag or tissue, and he was found unresponsive with paper lodged in his airway. An autopsy described a blocked airway and compression asphyxiation from restraint, but the forensic pathologist ruled the cause undetermined, and guards and prisoners gave conflicting accounts of what happened. Prosecutors declined to bring charges, and a federal lawsuit brought by his former wife and son, who had been estranged from him for years, is pending.
Cause of death, as reported: Cause not yet determined (disputed). The forensic pathologist ruled the cause undetermined while the autopsy described compression asphyxiation from restraint, and his former wife and son have a federal lawsuit pending.
Reported by: forensic pathologist (autopsy report) (medical examiner or coroner).
Lawsuit: His former wife and son filed a federal lawsuit over his death, which is pending, and no payment has been reported.