The Alaska Department of Corrections has reported three in-custody deaths in April alone, raising the total number for the year to five.
Among those who tragically lost their lives is Nathaniel David Leask, 49, who died on April 3 at the Anchorage Correctional Complex.
Leask had been remanded just six days earlier due to multiple probation violations, according to the department.
Reports from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska indicate that Leask’s death was a suicide, claiming he went without assistance for over three hours before staff attempted life-saving measures.
This incident marks the second in-custody suicide reported this year, prompting the ACLU to demand enhanced resources for mental health care and more extensive oversight and accountability within the Department of Corrections regarding protocols for managing in-custody deaths.
Austin McDaniel, spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Public Safety, confirmed on April 6 that Leask’s death was indeed a suicide, following an investigation that determined his injuries were self-inflicted.
“Troopers were notified at 8:40 pm on April 3 that 49-year-old Ketchikan resident Nathaniel Leask had died at Anchorage Correctional Center inside of a general housing cell,” McDaniel stated in an email.
He added that next of kin were notified, and Leask’s body is currently with the State Medical Examiner’s Office.
State troopers are tasked with investigating all in-custody deaths, consistent with their protocol for any unexpected death in Alaska.
“Our primary duty is to determine if any criminal conduct contributed to the decedent’s death,” McDaniel emphasized.
In addition to Leask, two other individuals have died in custody during April, which McDaniel described as “medically expected deaths.”
Marcias Zorita Reinhold passed away at the Hiland Mountain Correctional Center in Eagle River on April 8, having been incarcerated since 1998.
Lena Lola Lynn died in Goose Creek Correctional Center in Wasilla on April 20.
According to department statements, Lynn was remanded for parole violations related to prior convictions.
Factoring in the earlier deaths this year, the total of in-custody deaths now stands at five.
Prior to April, Pedro George Rubke, aged 78, died on February 4 at Goose Creek Correctional Center, where he had been incarcerated since 2012.
Reginald Eugene Childers Jr., 42, also died this year on March 3 at the Anchorage Correctional Complex, having been remanded in January, pretrial.
State troopers reported that Childers was found unresponsive in his cell and later died in a hospital, with his death also classified as a suicide.
Since 2020, there have been at least 70 deaths in custody within the DOC facilities, with 18 of these classified as suicides.
Despite the troubling statistics and growing calls for reform, the Department of Corrections has refrained from commenting on these recent deaths.
Betsy Holley, a spokesperson for the department, noted that internal investigations are ongoing, stating, “Our processes remain consistent: every inmate death is treated with the utmost seriousness.”
Each case is subject to a comprehensive internal review alongside an external and independent evaluation by the Department of Public Safety and the State Medical Examiner.
Holley revealed, “Two were anticipated by medical personnel—specific details of which we are legally prohibited from sharing due to HIPAA regulations.”
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