Incarcerated Northwestern Graduate Dies in Custody

Another needless, fully preventable heat-related death inside an American prison.

After earning a degree from Northwestern University while incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Facility in Crest Hill, Illinois last November, 51-year old Michael Broadway died in custody. Broadway was among the first group of incarcerated men to receive a bachelor’s degree from a top 10 university when he was awarded a diploma in November 2023 along with 15 others from Northwestern University. Broadway was also an author and stage 4 prostate cancer survivor, and was given a special acknowledgement during the graduation ceremony at Stateville that day by renowned writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, the commencement speaker, who held up a copy of his book, One Foot In. 

The circumstances around his death have left friends, family and others incarcerated at the Stateville facility questioning the sequence of events around his medical treatment. Friends who witnessed his death last week said he “didn’t have to die.” 

Broadway's family has ordered an autopsy, but results have not been released yet.

When asked about specific allegations around the timeline of Broadway’s death, a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Corrections responded that “at this point, we’d only be able to confirm his death on 6/19/24” and that “the investigation is ongoing.”

On June 19th, a 92F day, Broadway told neighbors he was having a hard time breathing, and they called for help, but it took more than twenty minutes for help to arrive. According to Anthony Ehlers, a fellow NPEP Northwestern graduate whose cell was next door to Broadway’s, the medical technician initially refused to climb the stairs due to the heat. After several minutes she relented, but attempted to treat him with Narcan, an opioid overdose medication, despite being told by Ehlers and another NPEP graduate he had asthma and didn’t use drugs. Broadway fell unconscious, and the other graduate helped several guards carry him downstairs; they used a sheet because the nearest stretcher was broken. By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs, Broadway had stopped breathing.

Not a single window was open, Ehlers wrote in a statement provided to WTTW News. Everything in the area of their cells were either closed or locked. “It was a clown show from start to finish and as a result our brother died needlessly.” Ehlers wrote. “What that tells me is we are not safe here. As a result of these conditions, our brother died.”

Windows were nailed shut with plywood due to structural damage, Abdul Malik Muhammad, who was also inside Stateville and friends with Broadway, wrote in a statement provided to WTTW News. “We all have been [complaining] about the heat, it’s very hot without any form of ventilation…all the fans is broke,” Muhammad wrote.

Terah Tollner, an attorney representing Broadway's family, said the men currently inside Stateville devastated by the loss of Broadway. “They’re terrified that it will happen again soon to someone else that they love,” Tollner said.