WILCOX COUNTY, Ga. — A man died in Wilcox State Prison on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Georgia Department of Corrections.
They say Mariol Juante Rawls died on Aug. 28, though they did not release any information about events leading up to his death.
According to the statement, Rawls was serving a 15-year sentence on manslaughter charges out of Fulton County, Georgia. He had a maximum release date of May 2032, per the report.
Our sister station in Atlanta reported that Rawls was a person of interest in the July 2017 shooting of Deante Benton. Benton, a father of four, died after the shooting.
The Department of Corrections says Rawls’ body has been given to the county coroner, and will be taken to the GBI crime lab in Atlanta to determine his cause of death.
The statement says Rawls’ death is being investigated by the Department of Corrections’ Office of Professional Standards, as per standard procedure. Due to the investigation, additional details are not available at this time.
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