TAKE UP THE FIGHT AGAINST PRISON KILLINGS IN PGH
Across Pennsylvania, incarcerated people are sent hundreds of miles away where they face horrific conditions behind bars. Correctional officers (COs) brutalize and murder inmates with no recourse and these killings are on the rise.
There are countless cases where no official cause of death is stated. At least 13 people died in prison custody in Pennsylvania last year. Families are left mourning the losses of their loved ones with no answers in sight. This number will continue to rise if these pigs are not held accountable. Our legal system protects killer pigs so it’s up to us to fight for justice.
THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION TO THE PEOPLE OF PITTSBURGH TO GET IN TOUCH WITH US AND JOIN US IN GETTING ANSWERS FOR THESE CRIMES
The situation for inmates in Pennsylvania is dire. In 2026, three inmates were found dead in three days in PA state prisons:
- James Paige, 36, died in SCI Benner Jan 30
- Marquez Smith, 27, died in SCI Chester Jan 31
- Erik Guenther, 61, died in Lancaster County Prison on Feb 1
In 2025, these deaths remained unaccounted for, and families have been left questioning why their loved one died:
- Kevin Byler, 47 years old, was found unresponsive in his cell on March 14. He was pronounced dead short after, COs failed to establish a cause of death.
- Fredderick Hall Jr, 42 years old, Found unresponsive in his cell at SCI Fayette on November 22. He was pronounced dead in the hospital four days later with no cause of death.
- Merrit Dudas, 36 year old, was. found unresponsive in his cell on October 20th, and shortly after, was pronounced dead. Dudas’s family, also, did not receive a cause of death.
Allegheny County Jail in downtown Pittsburgh was hit with multiple lawsuits in 2025, each lawsuit alleging that COs were using excessive force against inmates. Also in 2025, a guard named Brian Davis was suspended for filming a video of himself holding a bat wrapped in barbed wire while making racist comments.
One pig in particular, Sgt. Hunter Sarver, was sued by inmates seven times in just five years for harassment, abuse of power, excessive force, and other violations against inmates. One of those lawsuits was from Kush Wilkerson, who filed a suit alleging that Sarver along with 10 COs beat his head in and tased him in his groin and anus. Some inmates received settlements for their lawsuits, but Sarver has not faced any consequences and is still at large.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Deaths in custody are significantly underreported because prisons and jails exploit legal loopholes to skirt accountability and avoid reporting them. The little information we hear in the news is nowhere near enough to go off of.
If we want to launch a serious fight for justice, we need people in Pittsburgh to hit the streets, talk to people who have been incarcerated at Allegheny, and bring their stories to light. We need to investigate conditions at Allegheny further and make contact with people on the inside so they can speak for themselves and we can expose what’s going on inside.
MEET SHANELLA
Shernelaria Eccless is a leading member of Families Demanding Justice and has been leading the charge against police killing in New York City for years. She is now taking up the fight in Pittsburgh!
Her son, Antonio Casseem Armstrong was killed by NYPD on October 6th, 2021. He was targeted and assassinated by the cops in a retaliatory operation. Since his murder, Shanella has been tirelessly demanding justice for her son and all lives stolen by the police.
She has been spearheading organizing impacted families across the country and rebuilding the movement against police brutality on solid ground. Link up with her to bring the movement to PGH!
Dare to Struggle’s Chicago chapter continues to fight for justice in Cook County Jail. Similar to the conditions in Alleghany county jail, CCJ is rife with violence and abuse by COs. DTS members have been uniting with people both inside and out to bring them in collective struggle.
Members continue to build strong relationships with inmates and their families. They started a newsletter exposing the reality of prison conditions and spreading the word of inmates inside.
In order the start this up in PGH, we need to start with social investigation. Unifying people to fight for justice against police brutality begins with learning from the people most directly impacted by violence from CO’s.
Dare to Struggle 