It is extremely troubling that the focus is more on LaSelle’s past than on the circumstances of his death. A life was taken in state custody, yet the response from ODRC and OSHP shows none of the urgency or transparency that should follow an incident resulting in the loss of a human life. When the shoe is on the other foot, authorities release footage, statements, and details immediately. LaSelle’s family has received no expression of remorse, no footage, no explanation, and authorities have only provided opinion-based statements with no fact-checked information. Key details have been omitted, which is also information that contradicts the narrative being fed to the media. Moreover, the claim that the employees’ names have not been released is false; their names were made public in an article last week, further highlighting that information is being selectively shared and withheld.
The facts that are being left out are critical. LaSelle expressed fear for his life in messages to his family and filed grievances, as ODRC instructs inmates to do when issues arise within the facility. On August 11, 2025, he sent messages to his family asking them to contact ODRC Director Annette Chambers-Smith, stating: “Let her know I filed grievances today too this morning. I fear for my life and being targeted by staff period. Not worried about any inmates even though they are being sent at me too…” Help never came. Had his warnings and requests for assistance been taken seriously, LaSelle would still be alive. Instead, he ended up handcuffed, maced in the face, beaten, and dragged from his cell to the front of C-Unit, unable to stand. The body camera footage would show this. The block cameras would show this. Witnesses could confirm it — if they were not being intimidated into silence, fearing retaliation from staff they cannot trust.
LaSelle deserves media coverage that demands the truth be told, and his family deserves to know what really happened leading up to his death not selective reporting and not a narrative designed to protect the institution. When a system knows it failed, when it knows a life was taken on its watch, the first response is too often to poison the public’s perception of the victim. This is not just a failure of individual staff; it is a failure of the entire system that allowed his repeated cries for help to be ignored, ultimately leading to his death. It is deeply concerning that authorities appear to be changing their story across multiple forums, with no reporting ever grounded in verified facts — all opinion, all speculation. That is a serious problem