Parchman inmate serving life sentence found dead in his cell, investigation under way

Thomas Smith MDOC

Inmate death at Parchman under investigation 

Thomas Smith     MDOC
Thomas Smith
MDOC

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) — An inmate at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman has been found dead in his unit.

The state Department of Corrections says 38-year-old state inmate Thomas Smith was found early Monday.

Smith was housed at Unit 28, a minimum-medium custody unit for inmate workers. He was found at 4 a.m. as officers were preparing to wake inmates for the morning breakfast detail.

The death is under investigation. Further details were not released.

Smith was sentenced to life on Nov. 1, 2007, after a jury convicted him of murder in Oktibbeha County.