Inmate found dead at Mississippi prison

MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) — An inmate was found dead inside his cell at a Mississippi prison, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of the state’s capitol, authorities said Friday.

This is the third death this month at the East Mississippi Correctional facility in Meridian.

Emily Lawhead, a spokesperson for Management and Training Corporation, which manages the facility, said Clarence Gillie, 59, was found unresponsive in his cell on Thursday.

“Facility medical staff responded immediately, performing emergency medical procedures,” Lawhead said in a statement. “Local emergency medical services arrived and declared Gillie deceased.”

The man’s death is under investigation, Lawhead said. A cause of death is pending the outcome of an autopsy but foul play was not suspected, she added.

Lawhead referred questions about why Gillie was in custody to the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

Grace Fisher, a spokeswoman for MDOC, said in an email late Friday that Gillie was serving three sentences totaling 65 years. He was convicted of burglary in Coahoma County in 1987, escape in Sunflower County in 1988 and armed robbery in Bolivar County in 1989, she said.