PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas prison officials said Sunday that a state prison inmate has died after being found hanging in his cell.
The state Department of Correction said in a news release that David Shabazz, 53, was found by guards about 6:30 p.m. Saturday in his one-man cell, hanging from a bed sheet that was wrapped around the cell’s bars.
The department said Shabazz was taken to a Pine Bluff hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly before 7:30 p.m.
The department said Shabazz was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2002 following a drug-related conviction in Miller County and was later paroled, but was back in custody for being a parole absconder.
Shabazz’s body was sent to the state medical examiner to determine the cause of death and that the death is also being investigated by Arkansas State Police.
