An Anchorage prisoner died after being held for two days in custody, the Alaska Department of Corrections reported on Thursday. It’s the seventh inmate death that the department has reported this year.
Tristan Andrews was housed at the Anchorage Correctional Complex when he was declared dead on Aug. 29. Aged 29, he was found dead.
The reason for the death has not yet been identified at authorities at the State Medical Examiner Office. Officials do not suspect foul play.
The announcement comes as it is reported that the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska has asked for the independent examination of deaths occurring in Alaska Department of Corrections custody and the department wants changes to its regulation in order to improve its capacity to recruit enough personnel.
Betsy Holley, the Department of Corrections spokesperson, stated that an internal review is in progress.
“We take every death seriously and with the same level of compassion,” she said. “Any death of a prisoner has an impact on all of us.”
In an email, she said she said that Department of Corrections deals with those who are medically fragile group of people who enter the system with mental health and substance abuse related problems.
“Our prison population are more at risk of developing health issues due to their social and economic standing. They are diagnosed with multiple physical ailments, further caused by years of substance abuse or untreated mental disease. However, DOC cannot reverse years of damage, and more often, we can’t stop the progression of illness,” She wrote. The department is able to do everything to determine and address their medical demands of prisoners.
In the year 2000, 18 inmates died in Alaska this year, which was the most in the last ten years. The state said seven of those deaths came due to suicide, and 11 were caused by natural causes.
The story first appeared in Alaska Beacon and is republished here with permission.
