The Georgia Department of Corrections says it happened on Tuesday, but they were tight-lipped on what the man’s cause of death was.
OGLETHORPE, Ga. — An inmate died at Macon State Prison on Tuesday, the Georgia Department of Corrections confirms.
They say Anthony Knight was serving a 20-year prison sentence for aggravated assault when he died.
The Georgia Department of Corrections would not say how he died.
Knight’s body was handed over to the Macon County Coroner’s Office, who transported his body to the GBI crime lab for the official cause of death.
The GDC says his death is being investigated by their Office of Professional Standards, but they say additional details are not available because the investigation is ongoing.
Macon County Deputy Coroner says that Knight’s family was notified of his death on Friday after a long search for a next of kin.
The latest Knight could have been released from prison is February 2031, the Department of Corrections says.
His death comes after the Department of Justice issued a scathing report which — among other things — claimed the GDC fails to keep the inmates they hold safe from harm. They noted that the murder rate is three times higher than the rest of the national average in U.S. prisons.
The Department of Justice criticized the GDC’s reporting of deaths, including failure to classify deaths as homicides until after an autopsy is conducted even if the department the cause of death is clear.
RELATED: ‘Shock and horror’ | DOJ finds Georgia prison conditions ‘out of control’ and ‘unconstitutional’
While prisons are a dangerous place, the DOJ said the GDC fails to meet their constitutional requirements to keep prisoners safe from harm, stemming from chronic understaffing in Georgia prisons.
The GDC says that the DOJ report reflects a misunderstanding of the state corrections in the U.S. and claims the Federal Bureau of Prisons deals with similar problems.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
