D'Angelo Brown
- Age: 28
- Name of Jail: Charleston County Jail
- Location: North Charleston, SC
- Cause of Death*: E. Coli EAEC sepsis with septic shock and multiple organ system failure
- Incarceration Type: Pre-trial detention
- Private Company: Wellpath
- Incarceration Duration: About four months
- Date of Death: December 29, 2022
D'Angelo Brown, 28, was born and raised in Charleston, SC. He had a history of mental health issues, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. On August 10, 2022, he was arrested and booked into the Charleston County Detention Center. A lawsuit filed by his estate alleged that he experienced "inhumane treatment and deplorable living conditions” while incarcerated.
Jail records indicate that, a few days after his arrest, Brown was “combative, paranoid, rambling, and nonsensical” and was unable to eat “due to loss of balance and being unable to walk to reach his food,” according to the lawsuit. Brown submitted a formal request reporting that he was hungry and had not received a meal in 88 hours, the lawsuit notes. He later submitted another request, reporting that he was “really scared for [his] life.”
Brown died four months after his arrest. The county coroner determined his cause of death to be E. Coli EAEC sepsis with septic shock and multiple organ system failure due to “gross medical neglect.” The coroner deemed the death a homicide. The lawsuit alleged that staff of the sheriff's office and Wellpath, the private company contracted to deliver healthcare in the jail, "acted with conscious and deliberate indifference” to Brown’s “basic, obvious, and serious medical needs.”
A spokesperson for the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment, stating, “We do not wish to participate in your online project.”
Wellpath declined to comment on the specifics of Brown’s case, but the company’s Director of External Communications and Reputation Management stated: “Wellpath is unwavering in its commitment to delivering quality, compassionate care to thousands of patients across our partner facilities. We are deeply proud of the impactful work our teams provide to vulnerable, underserved patients in the correctional setting and the consistent evaluation of our processes and procedures to enhance our patients' care.”
A full account of the lawsuit—including the estate’s allegations against Wellpath and Charleston County, as well as each party’s response—can be found on the Charleston County Public Index, by searching case number 2023CP1001166.