Medical Examiner Rules Newton GCI Inmate's Death a Homicide

NEWTOWN, CT -- The death of an inmate at the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown on March 25 has been ruled a homicide caused by the inmate’s chest being compressed and an adverse reaction to pepper spray because of his heart disease, the Hartford Courant is reporting.

Jallen Jones, 31, died in March at the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown. He was being transferred to a mental health unit within the prison when he became "non-compliant," and "combative" with staff, according to a report from the Connecticut Department of Correction. He was pronounced dead at a hospital.

Dr. James Gill, Connecticut's chief medical examiner, told the Hartford Courant on Friday that Jones died suddenly "during struggle and restraint with chest compression" in addition to the exposure to pepper spray.

Correction department spokeswoman Karen Martucci said that state police are still investigating the death, and that prosecutors would decide whether a crime occurred.

For more on the story, see The Hartford Courant.