Gentry

The Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the death of Joseph Gentry, an inmate at the East Mississippi Correctional Facility near Meridian.

Chief Deputy Ward Calhoun said Gentry, 56, was found unresponsive in his cell Thursday morning. 

“At this point, everything points to natural causes,” Calhoun said. 

When called, the East Mississippi Correctional Facility transferred the call and then hung up.

Gentry was convicted of a murder and robbery charge in Hinds County in 2011, according to the Mississippi Department of Corrections.