Two more Alaska inmates die as details emerge of early morning death at Anchorage prison

July 3, 2024

The Anchorage Correctional Complex in 2020 (Lex Treinen/Alaska Public Media)

State correctional officials say no violence was used at the Anchorage prison against a man who died there last Wednesday.

While his death was still under investigation Tuesday, authorities also announced that two other inmates in Southcentral Alaska suffered health issues and died last week, bringing the total number of deaths in the state’s prisons to 10, the same number as all of last year. The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska continues to demand answers and action.

“From our side, we have absolutely a lot of questions,” said Megan Edge, director of the group’s Alaska Prison Project.

Anchorage police released some additional details Tuesday about the man who died early Wednesday at the Anchorage Correctional Complex. Police identified him as 38-year-old Ross Greenley and said he was initially arrested as a vandalism suspect shortly after 3:30 a.m. near the Alaska Backpackers Inn downtown.

Police spokeswoman Renee Oistad said Greenley was arrested on Eagle Street “without incident.” Whether police used force against Greenley or whether he had any health issues at the time is still under investigation, she said.

“He was examined by the Alaska Department of Corrections nurse upon arrival at the prison,” Oistad said in an email.

DOC spokeswoman Betsy Holley said Greenley was still in police custody when he entered the jail around 4:15 a.m. Wednesday. No one at the facility used force against him, she said.

“And again, the APD still had him in custody,” Holley said. “So anything that happened between Mr. Greenley and the APD, I know nothing.”

A police statement said Greenley was experiencing “medical issues” when he entered the booking area of the Anchorage Jail.

Holley said Greenley did not have a formal appointment yet when staff rushed to help him. She declined to discuss his symptoms because that information cannot be disclosed due to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

“After about five minutes, it was clear he was in distress, so our on-site medical personnel responded at the direction of APD,” Holley said in an email.

About 10 minutes later, paramedics from the Anchorage Fire Department took over from DOC personnel, Holley said. Oistad said life-saving measures were performed for more than 30 minutes before Greenley was pronounced dead. Police also said in an earlier statement that the overdose-reversing drug Narcan was administered.

Holley said Tuesday that neither Greenley nor Alaska serial killer Joshua Wade, who died in an Indiana prison on June 14, are counted by the DOC as deaths in custody.

But on Tuesday, the department announced the deaths of two more men — 76-year-old Anchorage prison inmate Benjamin Davis, who died about an hour after Greenley, and 63-year-old Goose Creek Correctional Center inmate Steven Woodman, who died Friday. Both deaths were expected by medical staff, according to Holley.

Davis and Woodman, Holley said, bring the number of deaths in custody in Alaska this year to 10, matching the state’s total for all of 2023. In 2022, 18 people died in DOC custody, a record.

The DOC’s handling and reporting of inmate deaths is being independently investigated by the ACLU of Alaska. Edge, a member of the organization, said the recent deaths underscore the need for transparency from the department and its director, Jen Winkelman.

“During the last legislative session, Commissioner Winkelman made many statements to Parliament about taking all of these deaths seriously,” Edge said. “These people did not die without reason. They may not have died at the hands of another person, but we don’t know that.”

Edge stressed that she did not want to immediately assign blame for Greenley’s death because many details of Wednesday’s arrest were still not publicly available. She listed some of her questions that remain unanswered.

“What was this person’s living situation prior to his incarceration?” she asked. “What was he actually taken into custody for? How many Anchorage Police and DOC officers were in the room when this medical emergency began? We don’t have any of that information.”

For Edge, Greenley’s death underscores the interplay of many public safety and mental health issues in Anchorage – and the tendency to address those problems with police action and prison sentences.

“What it really shows me is that all of these issues are closely connected,” Edge said. “We’ve seen police violence. We’ve seen problems with (Anchorage police officers’) body cameras. We’ve seen violence in homeless encampments and a lack of resources for people who are currently unhoused. We’re seeing deaths in custody.”

Edge, a former DOC spokeswoman under Governor Mike Dunleavy’s predecessor, Bill Walker, also questioned whether the department was using HIPAA as a shield against questions about inmate deaths.

“HIPAA does not apply to dead people in the same way as it applies to someone who is still living,” she said.

When asked about Edge’s HIPAA concerns, Holley said she contacted an expert at the state Department of Corrections to get more clarity on what the department could release about the circumstances of the inmates’ deaths.

“I know it’s a problem, and we want to be as transparent as possible without violating anything,” Holley said.

The new information about Greenley’s death comes as former APD Deputy Chief Sean Case takes over the police force under newly sworn-in Mayor Suzanne LaFrance. In a recent interview, Case said he hopes to improve the department’s transparency during major incidents.

Edge expressed cautious optimism that communication with police will improve under Case – who pointed to his contacts with community organizations such as the ACLU of Alaska – as the group tries to understand what happened after Greenley’s arrest.

“There’s a responsibility somewhere,” Edge said. “Somewhere something didn’t happen that probably should have happened to save that person’s life.”