Man found unresponsive in Phoenix prison cell, dead by suicide
A 23-year-old man incarcerated at the Arizona State Prison Complex in Phoenix died on Tuesday from an apparent act of self-harm, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.
Officials with the department identified the man as Joshua Fox. A news release issued on Wednesday stated he was serving a sentence for manslaughter in 2021. Fox fatally stabbed his father in a vehicle after an argument and fled the scene in Tempe, police said.
Prison staff found Fox unresponsive in his cell on Dec. 20 and "conducted life-saving measures until paramedics arrived onsite" before he was transported to Valleywise Health Medical Center, according to the news release. He was pronounced dead on Tuesday.
Fox had been sentenced for manslaughter on Dec. 15. He was placed in Department of Corrections custody on Dec. 19, just one day before his suicide attempt, prison records show.
Suicide deaths among Arizona's incarcerated population
At least 97 inmates have died by suicide since fiscal year 2010, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry.
The number of suicide attempts in Arizona prisons for the 2022 fiscal year totaled 71, which was 19 more than the year before, according to data from the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry. The number of suicide deaths for the fiscal year among incarcerated people totaled 10, the data showed.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man found unresponsive in Phoenix prison cell, dead by suicide
