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A fifth person incarcerated in the Massachusetts prison system has died of another “medical emergency” in just over the past month. The death happened on Tuesday at 4:15 a.m. at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, a maximum security facility in Shirley, according to the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC). An incarcerated man had a “medical emergency” at the prison, and “staff immediately began to administer life-saving measures and called 911,” a spokesperson for the DOC said. First responders brought the man to a nearby hospital and continued life-saving measures, but he was later pronounced dead. No foul play is believed to have been involved, though the man’s official cause and manner of death will be determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The incident is under investigation with troopers assigned to the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office, in coordination with the DOC. This is the fifth person reported to have died within a correctional facility in Massachusetts over the past month. This includes another incarcerated man who died at Souza-Baranowski on Oct. 3 and three people who died at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Norfolk. Their deaths happened on Sept. 20, Sept. 27 and Oct. 20. None of the deaths are believed to have involved foul play and were also medical emergencies, the DOC said. However, the cause and manner of each person’s death remains under investigation. According to a public records request submitted by MassLive, the DOC saw 19 in-custody deaths in 2024, 21 in 2023 and 28 in 2022. The most recent reported death at Souza would bring this year’s reported death numbers to 20. Based on the official causes of death the DOC has received from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner so far this year through June 15, three are listed as suicides. Five are listed as “unexpected.” In 2024, there weren’t any confirmed suicides, but 10 deaths were listed as “unexpected.” Two were homicides. The DOC has only categorized the most recent five deaths as “medical emergencies,” and issued a statement that emphasizes the department’s commitment to “comprehensive mental health and substance use services.”
