2 prison nurses suspended over Michigan prisoner's sudden death

LANSING — Two prison health care workers are suspended and the Michigan State Police have launched an investigation after the sudden death of a prisoner at a Jackson-area state prison, officials said Thursday.

John Richard Stein, 37, was given cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and rushed to an area hospital from Cotton Correctional Facility on the morning of Sept. 5, according to a prison activity blotter obtained by the Free Press.

A nurse employed by the Corrections Department and a nurse practitioner employed by prison health contractor Corizon Health, Inc., have both received “stop orders” banning them from prison property pending the outcome of the police investigation, department spokesman Chris Gautz said.

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Two prison sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said Stein was taken to the prison health care unit after he complained he wasn’t feeling well, but was returned to his cell a short time later. Soon after that, he collapsed again and died, the sources said.

Martha Harbin, a spokeswoman for Corizon, declined immediate comment, except to say the company would cooperate with any police investigation and also undertake an internal investigation.

An officer at the Michigan State Police Jackson post confirmed an investigation is under way into Stein's death, but declined further comment.

A spokeswoman for the Jackson County medical examiner's office confirmed that an autopsy was conducted on Stein, but said the cause of death is pending and it could be two months before a report is prepared.

Stein was serving 16 months to five years on a 2012 conviction for a prisoner possessing weapons in Gratiot County. He was earlier convicted of home invasion and aggravated stalking in Monroe County, prison records show.

A family member of Stein's could not be reached for comment.

The Corrections Department, citing the police investigation, refused to release critical incident reports or daily log book entries related to Stein's death after the Free Press requested those records under Michigan's Freedom of Information Act. The department said it had no records of any prison discipline involving Stein.

Corizon holds a five-year, $715.7-million contract to provide health care to state prisoners, according to state records.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4.