JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - An inmate serving 20 years for statutory rape and sexual battery has died in the hospital of the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
The state Department of Corrections said Thursday that an autopsy will be done on Tommy Lee Jones, 74, who was pronounced dead Wednesday. He was sentenced for both crimes on March 24, 2005, in Panola County.
At least 20 Mississippi inmates have died this year, according to the Department of Corrections.
At least 106 Mississippi inmates died from late 2019 until the end of 2020. Several died during outbursts of violence in late December 2019 and early January 2020. The U.S. Justice Department announced in February 2020 that it is investigating the state’s prison system.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.