JACKSON — Mississippi’s corrections commissioner is asking the FBI and state Department of Public Safety to examine recent inmate deaths.
Commissioner Pelicia Hall says Friday she is making the request in the interest of government transparency, though she believes most deaths were from natural causes, such as heart disease or cancer.
The announcement came as the department website posted notice that a 15th inmate had died in state custody in August.
Earl King Davis died Thursday at a Vicksburg hospital, where he was taken from South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Leakesville. The 55-year-old Davis was serving 20 years. In 2008, he was sentenced to 10 years for manslaughter and in 2009 he was sentenced to 10 years for aggravated assault. Both cases were in Lauderdale County. An autopsy will be done.
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