Inmate dies at Hunt Correctional Center hours after governor announces drug investigation
ST. GABRIEL - Hours after Governor Jeff Landry announced State Police would be investigating a drug problem at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center, an inmate died.
The Iberville Parish Coroner’s Office confirmed the body of Lanford Payne was picked up around 11 p.m.
They could not confirm the cause of death, but multiple sources within the system tell us it was an overdose.
Yesterday the Department of Corrections said that there had been two drug-related deaths at the prison this year, however, that number does not account for inmates who overdosed and later died off the premises at a hospital.
Tuesday morning, the Investigative Unit received a list of names of inmates who have allegedly died from overdoses in the past 18 months and is working on confirming each of them.
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State Police were at the prison for the second day in a row, but are being tight-lipped about the investigation.