PHOENIX — A state prison inmate awaiting trial for killing another prisoner was found dead Monday in his cell in Florence.
Michael Gaston, 23, was discovered hanging in his single cell during a routine security check, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections. He also left a suicide note. But officials did not disclose its contents and are still conducting a criminal investigation.
Gaston was charged with first-degree murder in January for the homicide of his cellmate, 45-year-old William Harris. If convicted, he could have faced the death penalty.
Harris, who was serving a three-year sentence for drug charges, was found Sept. 7 on the ground with a nine-inch metal shank sticking out of his chest after he was moved into a cell with Gaston.
Gaston was already carrying out a life sentence for killing a man over a car loan.
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Harris’s death launched an internal probe into the state prison’s inmate classification system, which is designed to separate non-violent prisoners from those known to be violent.
