PINE BLUFF -- 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.
NW News on 01/20/2020