GRACEVILLE — The death of a Graceville Correctional Facility prisoner is under investigation after what authorities are calling an “inmate on inmate altercation,” officials confirmed Tuesday.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) and the Department of Corrections (DOC) have taken over investigations into the incident. So far, limited details have been released; it is believed, however, that the death occurred during an “inmate on inmate altercation,” according to officials in the FDLE communications department.
DOC officials reported the victim of the altercation was 51-year-old John H. Anderson, who was serving a life sentence. The name or names of others involved in the incident had not been released Tuesday afternoon, and no charges had been filed as of Tuesday evening in Jackson County in connection with the incident.
Graceville Correctional Warden Mark Henry declined to discuss details surrounding the incident.
“This is an ongoing investigation,” he said, “and FDLE has taken the lead.”
According to FDLE officials, the department’s investigators and crime scene analysts responded to Graceville Correctional on Sunday at about 1:30 p.m. to investigate an inmate death at the facility. The death was a result of an inmate-on inmate-altercation, and the investigation remained active Tuesday, officials reported.
No further details were released Tuesday.
Graceville Correctional Facility is a private prison. The Florida Department of Management Services monitors and regulates most day-to-day matters involving employees hired to run the prison. Since the incident involves a criminal investigation, FDLE has taken the lead with assistance of DOC’s inspector general, according to Natalee Singleton, Communications Director for the Department of Management Services.
Henderson was in prison facing a life sentence for charges from 1998 in Alachua County. He was convicted of two counts of armed robbery with a gun, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and carjacking with a deadly weapon, according to DOC records.