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Death Row Inmate From LA Dies After Being Found Unresponsive In San Quentin Cell

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — An inmate on San Quentin State Prison's death row died Monday after being found unresponsive in his cell, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Tuesday.

Jose Francisco Guerra had been on death row since Dec. 6, 1993 after being convicted of first-degree murder for the 1990 killing Kathleen Powell, an emergency room nurse, in her Beverlywood home.

According to CDCR, corrections officers found the 61-year-old unresponsive Monday afternoon inside his single-person cell and immediately began life-saving measures.

Central Marin Fire Department was called to the scene and took over medical care, but were ultimately unsuccessful and Guerra was pronounced dead at the scene, CDCR said.

The cause of Guerra's death will be determined by the Marin County coroner, CDCR officials said.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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