15th person dies this year in Alaska Corrections custody

Goose Creek Correctional Center
Goose Creek Correctional Center. (Photo by Ellen Lockyer/Alaska Public Media)

A 15th person has died in Alaska Department of Corrections custody this year.

William Ben Hensley III, 34, was pronounced dead Sunday at Goose Creek Correctional Center. He had been in Corrections custody for one month.

No foul play is suspected, according to the department. A cause of death was not provided.

Hensley’s death makes 2022 the first year since 2015 to see 15 people die while jailed or incarcerated in Alaska.

Several of the people who died this year had only been in custody for a short period of time.

Two people died in custody last week, one after 13 days in custody and one after seven days.

Alaska Public Media

Alaska Public Media is one of our partner stations in Anchorage. KTOO collaborates with partners across the state to cover important news and to share stories with our audiences.

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Read next

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications