Inmate dies at Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility

PALMER -- A 47-year-old inmate at Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility died just after midnight Sunday, apparently from an unknown medical condition.

John France of Palmer was jailed just over 24 hours earlier on a driving while intoxicated (DWI) charge. Just prior to 11:30 p.m., someone noticed France was having difficulty breathing, Alaska Department of Corrections spokesman Bruce Richards said Wednesday.

Prison officials locked down the prisoner modules and removed France from the dorm.

Emergency medical help summoned to the pre-trial facility arrived at 11:44 p.m., and pronounced France dead a half-hour later. His body was transported to Anchorage, where an autopsy was performed Monday.

France did not seek medical help during his time at the facility, Richards said, but other inmates reported he looked sickly.

Troopers investigated a fight that occurred earlier that day, to determine whether it was related to France's death. An inmate had hit France in the face and knocked him to the floor.

"Our concern was that the altercation could have caused the problem, but the autopsy report outruled that," Alaska State Trooper investigator Leonard Wallner said.

Toxicology reports should indicate the cause of France's death, but will not be available for about four weeks.

After the death of an inmate, rumors frequently circulate about what caused it, Richards said.

Richards said he has heard rumors this week reporting false information about what took place that night.

A concerned friend of an inmate, for example, contacted the Frontiersman Wednesday morning to say prison staff "worked on" France for two hours, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, even though Valley Hospital is located about a block away from the pre-trial facility.

Richards said the rumor was not true.

"We had him moved out of dorm and started first aid right away," Richards said. Prison employees are required to call the hospital and have staff on hand for initial response, he said, and the 911 call is placed at the same time they identify a problem.

"We responded right away," Richards said. The time frame between lock-down and France's death was less than 45 minutes, he noted.

France was jailed at Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility after Palmer police officers arrested him Friday at about 2:21 p.m. Someone had alerted police that France was intoxicated while making a purchase at the Liquor Station. Police stopped France's silver F-150 double-cab Ford truck at Dogwood Street, by Valley Hotel, and charged him with DWI and driving with a revoked license.