A prisoner at a Newport correctional facility has died early Saturday morning after a suicide attempt on Thursday.
According to the Agency of Human Services, Joshua Bittner, 26, was found hanging in his cell in Northern State Correctional Facility by his cellmate Thursday evening.
The Vermont State Police say Bittner’s injuries appear to be self inflicted, but the incident is under investigation.
Staff at the prison immediately responded and began performing CPR. He was first brought to North Country Hospital, and later transported to the University of Vermont Medical Center, according to the AHS.
Bittner had been serving time on several offenses. He was previously convicted of nine charges, including felony unlawful mischief and felony possession of stolen property. His minimum release date was in 2015, and his maximum is in 2022.
He had been out of prison on furlough, but returned to Department of Corrections custody in early February for domestic assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threatening and others.
There will be a review of the incident by the Agency of Human Services and the Defender General.
The post UPDATED: Prisoner dies after suicide attempt appeared first on VTDigger.