Othel Moore Jr., a 38-year-old Black man from St. Louis, died on December 8, 2023 while incarcerated at Jefferson City Correctional Center in Missouri. Moore was serving a 30-year sentence for convictions that included second-degree domestic assault and first-degree robbery. His death was later ruled a homicide caused by positional asphyxiation after a contraband sweep by the Department of Corrections Emergency Response Team.

According to investigators, Moore was compliant during the search. He was stripped to his boxer shorts, handcuffed behind his back and led out of his cell. An exchange with guard Justin Leggins allegedly led to Leggins deploying pepper spray at close range; another guard, Jacob Case, then sprayed Moore again while he was on the ground. Staff placed a spit hood over his face, applied a leg wrap and secured him in a restraint chair. Multiple people heard Moore, who had asthma, repeatedly say he could not breathe. He was left alone in a locked cell still restrained and hooded for about 30 minutes before staff checked on him; he later was taken to a hospital wing where he was pronounced dead.

If anyone has information about the events in that cellblock on December 8, 2023, please come forward.