Since July, five inmates have died at High Desert State Prison. Another died at Southern Desert Prison. Both facilities are about an hour northwest of Las Vegas in Indian Springs. At this time, four of the deaths are still under investigation, suspected of being homicides. The Department of Corrections staff say the deaths are linked to drug debt.
Of course, this isn’t the first time people have been killed while serving time in the Nevada Department of Corrections. Last year, three inmates at Ely State Prison were killed in what officials called a riot.
The deaths raise questions about the high rate of violence within the state's prisons and what the Department of Corrections staff will do to protect the inmates in their care.
Bryan Horwath, a breaking news reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, told State of Nevada that deaths happen all the time in NDOC, but these recent deaths are unusual.
"We're talking about mostly young prisoners who are under the age of 40 — in their 20s or their 30s," said Horwath. "That's one of the things that kind of stands out in our reporting, is that a lot of these men are young, and some of them didn't have much time left at all on their sentences. That stood out to us."
The deaths have also caught the attention of inmate rights organizations like Return Strong, which advocates on behalf of prisoners and their families. Jodi Hocking, the group's founder and executive director, said they are hearing from inmates daily about their growing concerns over the lack of oversight in some state prisons.
"We hear [there's] really a lack of oversight with [correctional officers] ..." she said. "I won't say all of them, but some COs are a part of the problem, either for not supervising, not intervening in the fights, or not doing anything to be proactive in lowering the issues."
A 2024 audit found that the Nevada Department of Corrections shells out more than $18 million annually to compensate for chronic understaffing. Hocking said it's causing prison staff to make mistakes.
"We hear frequently that a lot of these fights and murders are related to housing classifications that were incorrect and shouldn't have happened," said Hocking.
Chris Peterson, Legal Director with the ACLU of Nevada, said the current safety situation in the state's prisons opens the door for possible litigation against the state.
"It definitely looks like there's a pattern of violence happening in the prisons, and from what we're seeing, the people who are running those prisons are aware of that problem," said Peterson. "We're talking about an aging prison system that isn't being properly staffed, and NDOC has been very upfront about not having proper staffing... You're going to have people get seriously hurt and killed."
The Nevada Department of Corrections declined an interview, but did provide a statement.
The safety of offenders and staff remains the top priority of the Nevada Department of Corrections and High Desert State Prison. Currently, HDSP is in a no-movement status. To ensure safety, the facility has changed several protocols in managing the offender population.
First, the number of offenders allowed out for recreation at one time has been significantly reduced, while still adhering to federal and local laws regarding out-of- cell time. This reduction will allow far more security protocols to be applied, including physical searches and scanning with walkthrough or handheld metal detectors to ensure no weapons are present when the offenders have physical access to each other or the staff.
Additionally, the Department has created a contraband task force to locate and remove items that contribute to safety concerns such as prison made weapons, narcotics, gang paraphernalia, and other forms of contraband.NDOC Dir. James Dzurenda
Guests: Bryan Horwath, breaking news reporter, Las Vegas Review-Journal; Jodi Hocking, founder and executive director, Return Strong NV; Chris Peterson, legal director, ACLU of Nevada
