TYLER, Texas (AP) _ An inmate awaiting transfer to the Texas prison system has died after being found hanged at the Smith County Jail.
Sheriff J.B. Smith says 24-year-old Duantes Harrison of Tyler was discovered Wednesday afternoon and transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Harrison was jailed in Tyler, waiting to be moved to a state prison to begin serving a 25-year sentence. The sheriff’s department did not immediately return a call Thursday to The Associated Press to provide further details on the conviction.
Smith says the inmate told jailers he felt sick and did not want to take part in recreation time. Smith says Harrison was later found hanging in a shower area, apparently using his bedding to make a rope.
Authorities say Harrison originally was from Detroit.
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