An autopsy will be done on an inmate who was pronounced dead Wednesday at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. File Photo by Trip Burns

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — An autopsy will be done on an inmate who was pronounced dead Wednesday at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility.

The Mississippi Department of Corrections said in a news release that Scott William Deters, 50, is believed to have died from natural causes.

Deters was sentenced Sept. 19, 2019, to seven years for possession of a controlled substance in Stone County and four years for prescription forgery in Harrison County.

At least 73 inmates have died in Mississippi prisons since late December. Several inmates died during outbursts of violence in late December and early January. The U.S. Justice Department announced in February that it is investigating the state’s prison system.