Second inmate involved in Vaughn prison uprising is mysteriously “found” dead
Kelly Gibbs, one of the 16 inmates charged with the murder of Lt. officer Steven Floyd during an uprising at the James T. Vaughn correctional facility in Delaware, died last week. Gibbs is the second inmate connected to the Vaughn uprising to die this month.
The first inmate involved in the Vaughn uprising to die was Luis Cabrera, a 49-year old potential witness convicted of double-murder. On Nov. 8th, he died at the Howard Young Correctional Institution. Gibbs died on Nov. 22nd at the same correctional institution.
According to the Delaware News Journal, Gibbs was serving a 24-year sentence for second degree murder. In a statement, the Delaware Department of Corrections concluded that no signs of foul play were found. The department did not release any other information about his death.
While Gibbs was not a defendant in the first trial of the Vaughn uprising, he was repeatedly mentioned by other prison inmates as having played a role in the death of a corrections officer. According to prosecutors, 16 inmates used “coordinated violence” to hold three guards hostage.
Prison uprisings and strikes have been a political tool utilized by prisoner organizers to demand better conditions. Dwayne Staats, a prison inmate found guilty of murder in the Vaughn uprising, explained that the prisoners were fighting back to force Gov. John Carney to amend the prison’s horrid conditions, a demand still not fulfilled. Many prison employees have left since the uprisings.
Despite the Department stating no foul play was made in both the deaths of the Vaughn prisoners, the cause of death and other details have not been released. Gibbs’ body was given to the Delaware Division of Forensic Science for an autopsy search.