Another inmate has died in Mississippi, bringing the total number of in-custody deaths up to 15, the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger reports.
According to the report, Jesus Garcia, 39, was found unresponsive in his cell on Saturday at the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility, Management and Training Corp.
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He did not respond to life-saving measures and was pronounced dead at 12:52 p.m.
Prison officials said that there was no obvious sign of assault, however, Garcia’s cause of death is still under investigation.
Garcia, who was serving a 20-year sentence for capital rape, is the 15th Mississippi inmate to die while in custody since Dec. 29. Of those deaths, more than half have occurred at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, also known as Parchman.
Mississippi legislators have been working to resolve some of the issues within the state prison system – including violence and terrible living conditions – that some have pointed the finger to with the influx of deaths
