When a Loved One Dies in Prison, Regulations for Bringing Them Home Compounds Their Grief

Date:  10-29-2025 Policies that dictate what happens after a death behind bars often add new layers of pain — and financial and logistical challenges — for those left behind.

From The Marshall Project Teresa Henderson’s son, Steven Kidd Jr., died on Sept. 12 inside Jackson Correctional Institution in Malone, Florida. A prison chaplain called on a Saturday to notify the family of his death, Henderson recalled. She said the chaplain told them that Kidd had died alone in his cell in the middle of the night and that the case was under investigation. Henderson was shocked by the news. Kidd died just nine days before he was set to be released, she noted. He had called her a few days before his death, imagining the life waiting for him on the outside. “After calling there so many times and them telling me it was under investigation and not telling me any details of what was going on,” she said, “I felt suspicious.” Continue reading >>>