In January, prison officials stopped releasing a specific cause of death for inmates. Instead, each death is classified as “natural causes,” unless there are special circumstances that would lead to an Arkansas State Police investigation.
Two Arkansas incarcerated citizens died of “natural causes” on March 11th. and March 16th. according to the Arkansas Department of Correction. The delay in notification was due to an inablity of prison officials to notify family members, according to the Department spokeperson. Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette
There have been 21 Arkansas prison deaths since Jan. 1; there were 56 deaths in 2014.