Update: The Derric Harsh’s death has been ruled a homicide.
A 23-year-old inmate was pronounced dead after being found unresponsive in his cell at the State Correctional Institute at Benner Township on Wednesday, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Derric Harsh is the third Benner Township state prison inmate to be found dead since Jan. 20. SCI-Rockview also reported an inmate death in February.
Centre County Coroner Scott Sayers said the causes of death in the three earlier cases have not yet been determined, that they were isolated incidents and are not considered suspicious.
Prison staff found Harsh at 11:54 p.m. and began life-saving measures until medical personnel arrived, Superintendent Robert Marsh reported. Harsh was then transported to Mount Nittany Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 1:08 a.m.
Harsh was serving an 8-to-16 year sentence for a rape conviction in Lancaster County and had been at Benner Township since Feb. 2, 2017.
Benner Township inmate Conrad Carpenter, 54, was found dead in his cell on Jan. 20 and inmate Joseph Little, 39, died after being found unresponsive on Feb. 16. At SCI-Rockview, 40-year-old inmate David Fry died on Feb. 3.
