Prison inmate’s death investigated as homicide

The death of an inmate at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution in Greene County is being investigated as a homicide, officials said.

Howard Payton, 38, died around 8:20 p.m. Wednesday.

He began serving a 150-year sentence on Jan. 8 for kidnapping and three counts of rape in Lamar County, according to the Department of Corrections.

Autopsy results are pending. No other information was immediately available because of the ongoing investigation.

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 2:13 PM with the headline "Prison inmate’s death investigated as homicide."