James Patrick Wheeler

James Patrick Wheeler, 91, died on July 29, 2022, at the Goose Creek Correctional Center, where he had been in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections since 1993. The department said his death was linked to COVID-19. According to the Anchorage Daily News, the department said it was the first death in the state's corrections system that year linked to COVID-19.

Cause of death, as reported: Died of illness. The Alaska Department of Corrections said his death was linked to COVID-19.

Reported by: Alaska Department of Corrections (the agency that held him). The only account of how this person died comes from the agency that held him.

News reports (3)

• Man in Alaska corrections department custody dies Alaska's News Source, August 8, 2022
• Death of Anchorage Correctional Center inmate is second at facility in a week Anchorage Daily News, August 9, 2022
• Families, activists question why so many people in Alaska’s jails and prisons have died this year KTOO, October 11, 2022