Lavell Lane
In Memoriam - South Carolina

Lavell Lane

By Madalyn Wasilczuk October 30, 2026 No Comments

Lavell Lane

January 5, 1993 – October 3, 2022

Lavell Na’Jay Lane was born on January 5, 1993, at the Kings County Hospital in New York, NY. He was the seventh of nine children born to Beverly Reese-Lane and Andy Reese and their youngest son. Lavell graduated from ACORN Community High School as valedictorian. He had excelled as a runner and earned a full ride to Howard University to run on their track team. Lavell is remembered as a dedicated runner, a “goof ball”, and a thoughtful brother.

Lavell’s mother Beverley recalls he was a “good young man” that she raised to be honest.  He had a gap in between his front teeth, and she used to tell him, “Make sure the truth come out of there and not lies.” His family also describes him as an outgoing jokester. His youngest sister, Andrea Lane, recalled a time when Lavell ate all the candy out of her Easter basket—for the Easters after, it Lavell Lane in a sweater, jean jacket, and OBEY hat. was the foundation of a running joke between the two of them. Lavell was also close with his paternal grandmother, Gladys Reese, who moved with his parents to Spartanburg, SC, from Brooklyn more than a decade ago.

Lavell practiced the Pentecostal faith, and he was involved with a young gentleman’s club. He was also a talented runner. Lavell ran the 100-meter, 200-meter, and four by 100-meter relay events. He ran the relay race with his teammates Jerry Hyppolite, Malik Rodriguez, and Isa Muhammad. To this day, his mom honors Lavell by keeping his running shoes propped up on their porch outside.

Despite being physically healthy, Lavell struggled with his mental health. Lavell was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder (bipolar type), and he had been undergoing treatment. Andrea, Lavell’s sister, identified their grandmother’s death in 2016 as the trauma that triggered Lavell’s struggles with his mental health. She explained, “Losing somebody is not easy at all, especially someone you’ve depended on your whole life. They see you before you see yourself.”

In the year after his grandmother’s passing, Lavell was admitted to Patrick B. Harris Psychiatric Hospital, where he stayed for ten months. Requiring more structure and support, Lavell was eventually admitted to Midway Residential Facility (“Midway”); Lavell resided there for three years. Lavell left Midway in July 2021 for Brooklyn. Andrea, Lavell’s sister, related that he was still outgoing despite his symptoms, but that they communicated less.

When Lavell died on October 3, 2022, in the Spartanburg County Detention Center, he was twenty-nine years old. The details regarding Lavell’s death remain unclear, but his family has been able to gain a rough understanding of what happened in the days and nights leading up to his death. Lavell, who had been living in New York in the months leading up to his death, took a bus to South Carolina on September 20, 2022.  When he got there, he checked into Midway.

Lavell Lane dressed for graduation in a white shirt, black tie, and black gown with a close-cropped haircut.In the days before his death, Lavell was transferred between the hospital, the assisted living facility, and the jail. Lavell was clearly suffering. On September 22, after Lavell had been transferred to the Spartanburg Area Mental Health outpatient center, he reported, “I am doing good, but I just (get) depressed sometimes. It’s been hard to cope since my [grandma] died.”

On September 28, Lavell was taken to the Spartanburg Regional Hospital. At that time, the hospital administered a long-acting antipsychotic medication. The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office arrested late that evening based on an altercation inside the hospital. Early the next morning, staff reported that Lavell had begun to bang his head against the floor. At that point, an officer went into Lavell’s cell and pepper-sprayed him. When Lavell attempted to wash out his eyes in the toilet, the officer pepper-sprayed the toilet bowl as well. In the morning, the jail nurse administered two doses of Aripiprazole: one fast acting dose and one slow acting dose. At some point after this administration, Lavell was released from the jail.

On October 2, 2022, a motorist called 911 to report that there was a pedestrian walking in the highway. The motorist, who had almost hit Lavell themself, said to the operator, “I’d hate for someone to die.” When the sheriff arrived on the scene, officers arrested Lavell for walking in the highway, a citation offense in South Carolina. The statute reads, “Where a sidewalk is not available any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall walk only on a shoulder as far as practicable from the edge of the roadway.”

Upon his arrival at the detention facility, the nurse wrote they were unable to take Lavell’s vital signs “due to his behavior.” Lavell was first placed in Holding Cell 2, but when he started banging his head and swinging his arms, the Special Operations Response Team attempted to transfer him again to the padded cell. Once Lavell had been transferred, no one in the detention center checked on Lavell or visited him.

Lavell spent his final hours in solitary confinement, sweating profusely, and punching up at the air. Jail personnel found him on the cell floor the next morning when they came to serve him breakfast. The coroner reported that Lavell died due to Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (“NMS”), a side effect of the antipsychotic medication that he had received days earlier.

Lavell is remembered by his family as a loving and funny and joyful family member.  His death represents the consequences that flow from the fact that jails are the number one provider of mental health services in the country. Lavell’s death was heartbreaking and needless.  Acknowledging a greater purpose, Lavell’s mother, Beverly, has said that she hopes this never happens to anyone else.  She said, “‘Lavell’s death might save somebody coming behind him, somebody with mental illness.  That’s my purpose, is to make it known that you have to treat people accordingly.”

 

Author: Alyssa Chapin

 

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