Nevada inmate pepper-sprayed, held face down before he died; death ruled homicide

A Nevada coroner’s office ruled that an inmate who was pepper-sprayed, shackled and restrained with his face to the ground was killed by prison guards.

An autopsy report revealed that 39-year-old Patrick Odale’s death at the Southern Desert Correctional Center on Dec. 28, 2023 was ruled a homicide, The Associated Press reported.

The autopsy report was finalized in late August after a nearly nine-month investigation by the Clark County coroner’s office into Odale’s death at the mostly medium security prison near Las Vegas.