Inmate at Tennessee prison dies, facility placed on lockdown

WHITEVILLE, Tenn. – An inmate at a Tennessee state prison has died and officials say the facility is on lockdown while the death is investigated.

News outlets report prison operator CoreCivic spokeswoman Amanda Gilcrist said Hardeman County Correctional Facility officers responded Saturday to an inmate who called for assistance with his cellmate. Gilcrist said officers found the cellmate unconscious, and he was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Gilcrist did not release the inmate’s name or cause of death.

She says the prison in Whiteville will remain on lockdown while the Tennessee Department of Correction investigates the death.