RUTLAND — A Marble Valley Correctional Facility inmate who died in August at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center succumbed to natural causes, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New Hampshire.
On Aug. 18, Scott Clark experienced what the Department of Corrections described as a medical emergency and was taken to Rutland Regional Medical Center. Later that day he was taken by ambulance to Dartmouth-Hitchcock in Lebanon, New Hampshire.
The 46-year-old Clark died five days later. Kim Fallon, New Hampshire’s chief forensic investigator, said the immediate cause of death was heart disease.
The final determination had been pending for nearly three months while toxicology tests were carried out. According to Fallon, the tests were either negative or showed that nothing other than natural causes contributed to Clark’s death.
“We consider it finalized,” Fallon said.
Deputy Corrections Commissioner Cheryl Elovirta said the case was still being investigated and that the Agency of Human Services and the DOC’s health services director were conducting their own reviews. Elovirta said she could not comment on the medical examiner’s report, citing HIPAA confidentiality regulations.
Vermont Defender General Matt Valerio, whose office investigates inmate deaths, said there was no indication of any wrongdoing in this case. Valerio hadn’t yet seen a copy of the death certificate or autopsy report, but he said the investigation would likely be closed.
“We aren’t treating his death as anything other than natural causes,” Valerio said.
The news that Clark died of natural causes comes just days after another inmate, David Bissonnette, died after experiencing what state police said appeared to be a “medical issue” at Northwest State Correctional Facility.
Valerio said two investigators had been looking into the circumstances of Clark’s death and that they had spoken with inmates who might have been around him when he fell ill or was exhibiting symptoms. They also talked to guards and other officials at the facility.
If the autopsy or death certificate had raised any red flags, Valerio said, officials would have requested copies of Clark’s medical records. On occasion, he said, toxicology tests find a substance that prisoners shouldn’t be able to obtain, such as heroin, cocaine or fentanyl.
According to a report in the Rutland Herald, Clark’s wife said he was a recovering heroin addict and suffered from a variety of medical conditions.
Valerio said it is not uncommon for inmates to die in prison. “Most of the time it is just chronic or even acute medical issues that cause the deaths,” he said. According to Elovirta, five inmates have died in Vermont prisons this year.
