Two more inmate deaths in Mississippi

Two prisoners died in Mississippi over the weekend, bringing the number of inmate deaths in the state’s troubled prisons to at least 46 since December.

Seventy-five year-old Jessie Minnifield died Friday night at Merit Health Center in Jackson where he had been receiving specialty care. He was serving a life sentence for a 1979 homicide and a 10 year sentence for aggravated assault.

News outlets also report that 41-year-old Deborah Patton died Sunday morning at Merit Health Center in Jackson where she had been hospitalized for several days. She was serving a 30 year sentence for DUI related crimes, including a crash that killed a five-year-old.