Dead inmate at Lost Gap prison identified

By By William F. West / community editor
Aug. 21, 2002
Authorities have released the name of an inmate at East Mississippi Correctional Facility who died Monday in an apparent attack by another prisoner.
The body of Lonnie Grisham, 58, of Tippah County was found in his cell about noon. Chief Deputy Mike Mitchell of the sheriff's department said he was bruised and bloody.
Mitchell said cellmate Tyrone J. Wilson, 29, of Hinds County is a suspect in the investigation. Grisham and Wilson had been moved into a single cell on Monday when the prison received 55 inmates.
No charges have been filed, but Mitchell said the case will be presented to a Lauderdale County grand jury in November.
Investigators are awaiting the results of an autopsy on Grisham's body. The sheriff's department and the Mississippi Highway Patrol are looking into the situation. An investigator from the Mississippi Department of Corrections was also at the Lost Gap prison Tuesday.
Wilson has declined to cooperate and has asked for an attorney.
The chief deputy said autopsy results should help investigators know whether the death was intentional or accidental.
No weapons were found in the cell, and Mitchell said Tuesday the injuries to Grisham's body did not indicate that a weapon was used.
East Mississippi Correctional Facility is a 100-acre prison opened in April 1999 by Wackenhut Corrections.