Name not reported
A 47-year-old man died in January 2021 while held at the Federal Correctional Institution at Petersburg in Hopewell, Virginia. Federal prosecutors say he had a medical crisis lasting about 30 hours, fell repeatedly over nearly two days, and was found dead in a suicide watch cell. Prosecutors say a lieutenant who was asked to check on him promised help but did not alert medical staff, and that he lay alone for nearly an hour and forty minutes before anyone responded. A Bureau of Prisons lieutenant and a nurse have been charged with violating his civil rights through deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs, and the indictment says both lied about his condition; a medical examiner reportedly said he would have survived if hospitalized and examined earlier. Records obtained by The Associated Press did not list a specific cause of death, and the two charged have not been convicted.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). Federal prosecutors say a lieutenant promised help but did not alert medical staff, and that staff left him on the floor for nearly an hour and forty minutes, and they say he died of blunt force trauma to the head from repeated falls, while records obtained by The Associated Press point to heart issues.
Reported by: federal prosecutors; medical examiner or coroner; records obtained by The Associated Press (reporters).