A 78-year-old man held at the state prison in Springfield died over the weekend, the Department of Corrections announced Monday.
Richard Davis, of Orleans, was found unconscious in his cell at the Southern State Correctional Facility at about 4:41 a.m. on Saturday. Medical staff and emergency responders attempted “live-saving measures,” but Davis was pronounced dead at the prison, according to the department. His death does not appear suspicious, the department said.
The Defender General’s Prisoners’ Rights Office and Vermont State Police will review the incident, a standard practice when someone dies in prison.
Davis had been incarcerated since 1993 on charges of kidnapping and simple assault, the department said.
He’s the seventh incarcerated person in Vermont to die this year. Six, including Davis, had been imprisoned at the Springfield facility, which is where the state tends to house older people and those with higher medical needs.
In January, William Barrett, 63, was found unresponsive in his cell at Springfield. The next month, Michael Myers, 51, suffered an apparent medical event at the same facility and died.
James Ingerson, 54, died in April at Northern State Correctional Facility after being found unresponsive in his cell.
Three people held at Southern State Correctional Facility this year were transferred to a hospital before they died.
In February, Shawn Gibney, 63, was taken to the University of Vermont Medical Center and placed on hospice care.
Michael Hartigan, 67, was placed on palliative care and died at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in March. In April, Gene Peterson, 67, was transferred to Springfield hospital for medical care and then transferred to DHMC, where he died.
