Man in custody at Eastern Kentucky prison dies shoveling snow, ice after storm
A man being held at an Eastern Kentucky prison died Tuesday morning while removing snow and ice debris, prison officials announced.
Marvin Knuckles, 48, died early Tuesday while he was shoveling after Winter Storm Fern at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex.
Knuckles was part of a work crew of inmates removing snow and ice debris on facility grounds when he “fell and sustained a head injury,” the state justice department said in a news release.
The Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex is a medium-security institution in West Liberty that can house more than 1,900 people, according to the Kentucky Department of Corrections website.
Staff took Knuckles to Appalachian Regional Hospital in West Liberty where he died around 7:30 a.m., officials said.
“This tragic accident is one that we work to avoid each day as we protect those in our custody,” Justice and Public Safety Cabinet Secretary Keith Jackson said. “We extend our deepest condolences to the family of Mr. Knuckles and to our correctional staff. We will conduct a thorough review of this situation to better prevent this from happening again.”
As Department of Corrections policy requires, all inmate deaths are reported to Kentucky State Police.
Knuckles was serving a 12-year sentence for drug related charges, including trafficking of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence out of Madison County, state officials said in a news release.
His death is the second known death at Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex this month.
On Jan. 4, Marcus Gray, 49, of Corbin, was found unresponsive in his cell and later died at University of Kentucky Hospital.
