Mississippi prison system records 8th death in less than month

Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Corrections officials at the Mississippi State Penitentiary found an inmate dead in his prison cell Wednesday, marking the eighth death at a state facility in less than a month.

The Mississippi Department of Corrections said officers found the inmate hanging in his cell at the prison, commonly known as Parchman. The department declined to identify the prisoner pending notification of his next of kin.

Sunflower County Coroner Heather Burton said that though the man's cause of death appears to be hanging, an investigation into the cause and manner of death was underway.

The man's death comes one day after the prison announced the deaths of two other men from a fight Monday. The MDOC said the two men died from injuries sustained in the fight.

Wednesday's is the eighth death to occur at a Mississippi correctional facility since Dec. 29.

They also follow the death of inmate Gabriel Carmen, 31, who was found hanged at the Parchman facility on Saturday.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement Tuesday that he is working "around the clock" with local officials to prevent future deaths within the prison system.

"There is much more to be done here," he said. "We have asked [the Department of Corrections] to provide as much information to the public as possible as quickly as possible. Transparency is the first step."

Darryl Coote contributed to this report.