Condemned Death Row Inmate Jose Francisco Guerra Dies At San Quentin
SAN QUENTIN (CBS SF) -- Prison officials on Tuesday confirmed that a condemned death row inmate at San Quentin died at the prison after being found unresponsive in his cell Monday afternoon.
According to a release issued by the California Department of Corrections,
61-year-old Jose Francisco Guerra was found unresponsive in his single cell during a housing check at approximately 2:15 p.m. by correctional staff.
An alarm was sounded and staff immediately began to administer life-saving measures to Guerra. Central Marin Fire Department arrived and took over medical care but were unsuccessful and Guerra was pronounced deceased at 3:01 p.m.
An exact cause of death will be determined by the Marin County Coroner.
Guerra was received from Los Angeles County and housed on death row since Dec. 6, 1993. He was convicted of the first-degree murder while armed with a firearm.
Last month, three other condemned inmates died either at outside hospitals or in their San Quentin cell.
On December 20, 2020, 62-year-old Royce Lyn Scott died at an outside hospital while being treated for an undisclosed medical illness. Scott was admitted onto California's Death Row on September 25, 1997, after a jury found him guilty of the first-degree murder and sexual assault with special circumstances of Della Morris.
A coroner is determining the cause of Scott's death. Foul play is not suspected.
San Quentin death row inmate James Odle died of natural causes at an outside hospital a day earlier on December 19. Odle was condemned to death nearly four decades ago for killing Pinole Police Officer Floyd "Bernie" Swartz during a shootout.
n Dec. 15, Noel Jesse Plata, a Southern California gang member, sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering an 18-year-old college student during a home invasion robbery, was found dead in his cell at San Quentin.
California has not executed anyone since 2006. Gov. Gavin Newsom has halted executions so long as he is governor. Officials say there are 706 people currently on California's death row.
