Two inmates from the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman died during the weekend after being in and out of hospitals the past several months, the state Department of Corrections said Monday.

The department said one inmate died Saturday at Merit Health Central in Jackson. His name was not immediately released Monday because the department had not yet notified his family.

Joe Taylor Jr., 69, died Sunday at Northwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center in Clarksdale. He was serving a 15-year sentence for an aggravated DUI conviction in Montgomery County. His sentencing was Oct. 9, 2014.

The department said autopsies would be done, and no foul play was suspected in either of the deaths.
Taylor was at least the 63rd inmate to die in Mississippi prisons since late December.

The U.S. Justice Department announced in February that it is investigating Mississippi’s prison system. Several inmates died during outbursts of violence in late December and early January.