John Linley Frazier
John Linley Frazier, 62, worked as an auto mechanic and had attended Capitola Elementary School, and according to an attorney who monitors the system, he had received mental health care and lived with a physical disability. He died in his cell at Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, Amador County, on August 13, 2009. The Amador County coroner's office ruled his death a suicide from asphyxia due to strangulation, and a prison spokeswoman said staff did not know when he had last been checked on. The state announced his death five days after his body was found, citing internal reporting delays. The attorney said he had recently been moved out of an intensive mental health program into the general prison population, and blamed prison crowding and a shortage of mental health beds.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (neglect alleged). The Amador County coroner ruled the death a suicide by asphyxia, and a prison spokeswoman said staff did not know when he was last checked on; an attorney who monitors suicide prevention says prison officials moved him out of an intensive mental health program shortly before his death.
Reported by: Amador County coroner (medical examiner or coroner); Mule Creek State Prison spokeswoman and state corrections officials (the agency that held him); attorney who monitors suicide prevention.