Donald Johnson
Donald Johnson, 59, had been held at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville for nearly three decades. He died there on October 1, 2026, and the Justice & Public Safety Cabinet said staff found him unresponsive in his cell around 2:20 a.m. Central time. Cabinet spokesperson Morgan Hall said the method of death appeared to be suicide, but the medical examiner's autopsy is pending and the Lyon County coroner has not released a cause or manner of death. The prison and the cabinet did not announce the death; it became known through a Supreme Court filing by his attorney.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide. The Kentucky Justice & Public Safety Cabinet said the method of death appears to be suicide, with the medical examiner's autopsy still pending.
Reported by: Kentucky Justice & Public Safety Cabinet (the agency that held him). The only account of how this person died comes from the agency that held him.
News reports (8)
- Inmate dies in custody at Kentucky State Penitentiary
- Death row inmate who fought sentence 29 years dies in Kentucky prison
- Death row inmate dies by apparent suicide at the Kentucky State Penitentiary
- Inmate on death row at Kentucky State Penitentiary died in custody last week in apparent suicide
- Kentucky death row inmate dies in custody at maximum security prison
- Hazard laundromat murder resurfaces after death row inmate’s apparent suicide
- Kentucky death row inmate found dead in cell at Lyon County prison
- Inmate dies in custody at Kentucky State Penitentiary; Mayfield police to host Coffee with a Cop Day