SC man serving time at Florida prison dies just before release. Now his dad is suing
A federal lawsuit has been filed against correction officers at the Federal Correctional Institution Coleman in Florida after the death of an inmate from Charleston, South Carolina.
He was due to be released from prison this year, a press release says.
Davon Gillians, 22, died while incarcerated at FCI Coleman in Sumter County in May 2021, the lawsuit says.
More than nine months later, Robert Conyers Jr., Gillians’ father, demands answers.
“We refuse to sit back any longer while the prison leaders refuse to meet with us and the government refuses to provide us with any answers,” Conyers said in the release from his attorneys. “My son made a mistake and was serving his time just like our justice system requires, but that doesn’t mean they get to punish him beyond what the law allows. My son was killed and we must hold those responsible accountable.”
The FBI, the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section are investigating the incident, the release says.
FCI Coleman did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
According to court documents obtained by McClatchy News, Gillians ”suffered from sickle cell disease requiring daily prescription medication.”
On May 16, 2021, corrections officers physically removed Gillians from his cell before punching him and choking him, causing him to briefly lose consciousness, documents say.
Despite being compliant, Gillians was strapped in a restraint chair where he remained in solitary confinement from 24 to 48 hours — with no food, water or medication, the lawsuit says.
On May 18, 2021, Gillians was escorted to a new cell with another inmate, according to the lawsuit. Officers were reportedly instructed not to place any inmates in a cell with the other inmate due to his mental health issues and tendency for violence.
According to court documents, officers placed Gillians with the inmate as a “form of punishment.”
Shortly after, the lawsuit says, Gillians was physically attacked by the other inmate. He was in “clear medical distress” after the fighting and asking for water, but his request was denied. He was put back in solitary confinement after the fight with still no food, water or medication, the lawsuit says.
Gillians’ condition worsened, and inmates said they could hear him “pleading for food, and stating that he could not feel his legs, had urinated on himself, and was concerned he was going to die,” documents say.
During the night of May 18 going into May 19, 2021, Gillians’ medical condition worsened, and he was rushed to the emergency room at a local hospital, the lawsuit says.
He was pronounced dead shortly after, documents show.
The medical examiner certified Gillians’ death as a homicide, Conyers’ attorneys said in the release.
The lawsuit alleges that personnel from FCI Coleman violated Gillians’ Eighth Amendment rights, which protect him from “cruel and unusual punishments.”
Michael Levine, Conyers’ attorney, told McClatchy News he plans to “aggressively pursue answers.”
Gillians was “not sentenced to death,” Levine said. “Yet, that’s exactly what happened to him.”
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 5:47 PM with the headline "SC man serving time at Florida prison dies just before release. Now his dad is suing."