3rd Nevada inmate in a week dies in custody

John Colwell (Courtesy/Nevada Department of Corrections)

An inmate who was denied cataract surgery by the Nevada Department of Corrections and won an appeals court ruling about it died this week, the Nevada Department of Corrections reported Wednesday.

John Colwell, 67, died at High Desert State Prison from what corrections officials called a chronic medical condition. His death was the third inmate death reported in a week by the state.

Colwell was serving multiple life sentences for first-degree murder and kidnapping. He was also serving 15 years each for robbery and the use of a deadly weapon.

While he was in prison, the man’s treating doctors recommended surgery for his cataract problems years ago but the department of correction’s “one eye policy,” which allowed them to deny him treatment because he has a single functional eye.

According to court records, Colwell developed cataracts in both eyes. He had injured himself several times because of this, including running his hand through a sewing machine and splitting open his forehead on a concrete block.

Colwell had been in the Nevada prison system since 1991.

Contact reporter Annalise Little at alittle@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0391. Find her on Twitter: @annalisemlittle.