Randy Heath

In November 2020, Randy Heath was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami, FL. He weighed about 200 pounds. Prior to his incarceration, he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and was taking prescription medications for both conditions.

Over the course of his eight months of incarceration, Heath’s physical and mental health steadily deteriorated. According to a lawsuit filed by his family, Heath was left unattended for hours at a time in his own urine and feces. “According to multiple witnesses, Mr. Heath was clearly being neglected and mistreated,” the lawsuit alleged. Heath, according to the complaint, was “allowed to endure a slow and painful death.”

Heath died in July 2021, after eight months of incarceration. According to an autopsy report, he weighed just 100 pounds, about half his weight at the time of his arrest, and had no medications in his body. A medical examiner determined that he died from “food asphyxia” after a large piece of orange was found blocking his airway. “Clearly, Mr. Heath was suffering, starving, and being unattended to well before he allegedly died from food asphyxia,” the lawsuit alleged.

"Randy’s situation is inexcusable," Daryl Washington, the family's attorney, told the Lab. "He was in a skeleton state when they found him. There is no way he should have been in that condition."

The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to the Lab’s request for comment.

A full account of the lawsuit, including the estate’s allegations against Miami-Dade County and the county’s response, is available through PACER (Case 1:23-cv-22650, Southern District of Florida).

• IN THE NEWS (Warning: Disturbing Contents)
  • Article One
• LITIGATION (Warning: Disturbing Contents)
  • Complaint