2 Women Die In Rhode Island State Prison Within 3 Days

CRANSTON, RI — Two women died in state prison at the Rhode Island Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston, officials with the RI Department of Corrections said Sunday.

One woman died Sunday, just hours after she was sent to state prison. Public Information Chief Officer J.R. Ventura said officers checked on the woman around 3:30 a.m., a few hours after she was committed. When corrections officers arrived, the inmate could not respond, so they call for medical assistance immediately, according to Ventura.

"The officers and medical staff continued life-saving measures until the arrival of Cranston Fire, who then rushed the inmate to Kent Hospital with very faint vital signs," Ventura said. "The facility later received a call that the inmate succumbed to her condition and had since passed away."

Another woman died in prison on Friday night. Ventura said the woman suddenly collapsed while playing basketball in the gym.

"Officers and nursing staff immediately began administering life-saving measures until the arrival of Cranston Fire," Ventura said. "The inmate was rushed to RI Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead."

Corrections officials did not identity either woman. Rhode Island State Police and the RI Department of Corrections Investigative Unit are investigating the incidents.

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