Mark Canul
Mark Canul, a former Juneau man, was held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex in December 2015 while a judge had found him not mentally competent to stand trial and ordered him admitted to the Alaska Psychiatric Institute. His family says he had paranoid schizophrenia and was nearly deaf. According to the family's wrongful death lawsuit, he was placed in a cell with another man who attacked and killed him, and the lawsuit says the state was negligent in training and supervising staff who respond to mentally ill prisoners. The Alaska Bureau of Investigation said a beating by his cellmate contributed to his death, and a grand jury indicted the cellmate on murder counts. The Department of Corrections could not be reached for comment.
Cause of death, as reported: Killed by another person in custody (neglect alleged). The Alaska Bureau of Investigation says his cellmate beat him to death, and a grand jury indicted the cellmate on murder counts; his family's wrongful death lawsuit says the state failed to train and supervise staff who respond to mentally ill prisoners and should have known the cellmate was predisposed to violence.
Reported by: Alaska Bureau of Investigation (outside investigators); his family's wrongful death lawsuit (family or their lawyers).
Lawsuit: His family sued the Alaska Department of Corrections over his death in a wrongful death lawsuit, and no settlement or award amount has been reported.