DRAPER, Utah – An inmate died Saturday at the Utah State Prison after jumping head-first from a fixture in his cell, and the man is the second inmate to die at the prison in the last seven days.
According to a press release from prison officials, 22-year-old Ryan P. Allison was observed banging his head on a concrete floor at about 7:30 a.m., and as officers prepared to enter the man’s cell, “Allison dove head first from a sink/toilet fixture.”
Those who responded gave CPR but were unable to revive the man, who was in a camera-equipped cell in the Olympus facility, which houses inmates who are mentally ill.
Unified Police Department officials are investigating the incident, as per standard procedure. Allison’s body has been turned over to the Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.
The death is the second apparent incident of suicide at the Utah State Prison in the last week; an inmate hanged himself in his cell October 18.
According to the press release: “Allison pleaded guilty but mentally ill to charges of threat or use of a dangerous weapon in a fight, a Class A misdemeanor, and making threats against a judge, a third-degree felony in September 2010. Allison initially was sentenced to the Utah State Hospital for treatment but due to his disruptive behavior there, he was subsequently ordered to serve his sentence at the prison. He had been incarcerated at the Utah State Prison since April 2011. In August, Allison was charged with and found guilty of assault by a prisoner, a third-degree felony. Allison had a discharge date of May 24.”
