Wade Walters
Wade Walters, 47, was from Davenport, Iowa, the youngest of six children and the only boy. His niece, Toni Cinadr, said he was more like a brother to her, that he "would do anything he could to help people," and that he was "loving & caring." On January 9, 2021, while he was held at FCI Petersburg Medium in Virginia, he began losing the ability to speak, stand and walk, and federal prosecutors say he fell repeatedly and lay alone for nearly an hour and forty minutes before he died around 6:30 a.m. on January 10. Prosecutors say a lieutenant who was asked to check on him promised help but did not alert medical staff, and the autopsy report, cited by prosecutors, found that a lack of medical attention contributed to his death from blunt force head trauma. Federal prosecutors have charged two lieutenants and a nurse over the death, and the family says all the staff involved are responsible.
Cause of death, as reported: Died from neglect by staff (disputed). Federal prosecutors say staff left Walters on the floor for nearly an hour and forty minutes without aid after repeated falls, and that an autopsy found a lack of medical attention contributed to his death; the family says all staff involved are responsible and a defense lawyer disputes one nurse's role.
Reported by: federal prosecutors; autopsy report; family; defense attorney for one nurse.
News reports (5)
- Grand jury indicts Bureau of Prisons CO, nurse in inmate’s death
- Ex-corrections officer sentenced to prison in Va. inmate’s death
- Ex-prison guard gets 3 years for failing to help incarcerated person who later died
- Ex-prison guard gets 3 years for failing to help sick inmate who later died
- Officers ignored dying man at VA prison, feds say. Has family gotten justice?