2 more Mississippi prisoners die, including one in out-of-state facility
Keisha Rowe
Two more Mississippi inmates have died, including one who reportedly died in an out-of-state facility, the Mississippi Department of Corrections said in a statement Tuesday.
Thomas C. Parker, 40, died Tuesday at the Northwest Mississippi Medical Center in Clarksdale. He was serving life in prison for capital murder at the Mississippi Penitentiary at Parchman after pleading guilty in October 2010 to stabbing a homeowner during a robbery in DeSoto County.
Lamarcus Lee Hillard, 40, reportedly died Saturday at a correctional facility in Florence, Colo. He was serving 45 years in prison on charges of possession in Hinds County and manslaughter in Sunflower County.
The cause of death in both cases is pending autopsy.
A total of 77 Mississippi inmates have died while in custody since Dec. 29, 76 of whom have died while in the custody of the state's department of corrections. Hillard is the first Mississippi inmate this year to have died while not in a state facility.
Contact Keisha Rowe at nrowe@gannett.com, on Twitter or at (601) 760-2483.
