Another inmate dies at Central State Prison in Macon, the 3rd this month, coroner says

A third inmate this month died at Central State Prison in Macon on Christmas Day from unknown causes, according to Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones.

Joseph Akins, 66, was found dead at about 3 p.m. Monday in an open area of the prison on Fulton Mill Road in southwest Macon, Jones said Tuesday morning.

Jones said Akins’ body had no outward signs of trauma or foul play and that the cause of death was unknown. An autopsy will be completed in the coming days to determine Akins’ cause of death.

Akins had been in prison since 2019 for committing arson in Crisp County, court records and Department of Corrections records show. He also served time in prison from 1992 to 2012 for voluntary manslaughter charges, records show.

Akins’ death is the third in Central State Prison this month after two men died in two days from separate stabbings at the prison.

Marquis Johnson, 26, died at a local hospital Dec. 18 after he was stabbed at the prison, Jones said.

Johnson began his time in prison in June after he was convicted of armed robbery, gang participation and other crimes he committed in Muscogee County in 2017, according to the Georgia Department of Corrections website.

Johnson’s death came one day after Hollis Bryant, 28, died about 1:30 a.m. Dec. 17 in a stabbing at the prison. Bryant was serving a life sentence after he pleaded guilty to murder in 2019 in Toombs County, reports show.

Officials did not say whether the two stabbings were connected to Akins’ death or to each other.

This story was originally published December 26, 2023 at 12:16 PM.