Victor Rogers
Victor Rogers was 27 and had a documented history of schizophrenia, and his mother, Pamela Stroud, said she is angry that her son was left in the situation he was in. He died in March 2015 at Lee Correctional Institution in South Carolina; a state report cited in coverage says he died of septic shock from a kidney infection, and Lee County Coroner Larry Logan said a fast-moving kidney infection, also called sepsis, caused his death and that he had been sick with a fever for some time. His family's lawsuit against the South Carolina Department of Corrections says a doctor advised against placing him in isolation, that he was placed there anyway, and that for about a week before he died he lay on his cell floor unable to move or speak while staff walked past him. The family also says he complained of chest pains and was ignored by corrections officers, and his mother said, "My son laid on the floor and just died." The SCDC declined to comment, citing pending litigation, and the SLED investigation and solicitor's review were ongoing when the coverage was published.
Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness (disputed; neglect alleged). The Lee County coroner says he died of sepsis from a fast-moving kidney infection, while his family's lawsuit says staff ignored his chest-pain complaints and walked past him as he lay unable to move on his cell floor for about a week.
Reported by: Lee County Coroner Larry Logan (medical examiner or coroner); his family and their lawyers, in a lawsuit against the South Carolina Department of Corrections (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His family sued the South Carolina Department of Corrections over his death at Lee Correctional Institution in 2015, and the case is pending litigation with no settlement or award reported.