Troy Pittman (59), was declared dead on August 27th at Promise Hospital in Vicksburg. The department’s website indicates. An autopsy is currently being performed to determine the manner and cause of death. Pittman was held at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, Rankin County. On April 13, 2000, he was sentenced in Alcorn County to 30 year imprisonment for two counts each of sexual battery or assault. The death of Pittman makes August the most deadly month for Mississippi prisoners in recent years. MDOC documents show that more state prisoners died in August than any other month between 2012 and 2017. Nicole Marie Rathman (33) was another CMCF inmate who died August 23 at Merit Health Central, Jackson. Rathman was five years into her 10-year sentence for methamphetamine selling. She was the first MDOC prisoner to die this month. Autopsy is still pending on Rathman’s death and her cause of death. Autopsy results have been slowed by the state’s crime laboratory backlog, leaving families of prisoners and the public without any clear answers about causes of death. Pelicia Hall, corrections commissioner, stated in a press release that the “numbers of deaths” the department reports is comparable to previous months. However, she said that the department values the concerns of the public and is committed to transparency. “As such the department has been first to make certain information regarding deaths available to public,” Hall stated. Hall also said that the majority of deaths were due to natural causes, which include heart disease, cancer, and other medical conditions. Inmates in prison of more than 19,000 people tend to reflect the world free of such conditions as people from all walks and pre-existing medical conditions. Mississippi Today’s analysis of MDOC data revealed that the Mississippi State Penitentiary, Parchman, has had a higher death rate than the general population in recent years. Five CMCF prisoners have already died this month. 11 of the twelve deaths occurred at the three state prisons. Another inmate, Nija Syvallus Bonnehomme (24), was also among the 12 who died in August. She was being held at Wilkinson County Correctional Facility. This facility is owned and managed by MTC.