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The Oregon Department of Corrections announced Dec. 30 the death of 67-year-old Robert Lee Shaft, the 12th inmate to die in DOC custody in the last two months of 2021. Shaft, who was in custody at Snake River Correctional Institution near Ontario, died in hospice care, according to DOC.
The other 11 deaths occurred at three of DOC’s 13 prisons: five at Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem, three at Two Rivers Correctional Institution in Umatilla, and three at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville—the state’s only women’s prison.
“None of these individuals were COVID positive at the time of death,” says DOC spokeswoman Betty Bernt.
Among the dozen people who died, the youngest was Sarah Maebell Rodgers, 27, who died Nov. 15 at a local hospital, according to DOC. The agency did not provide any details as to the cause of Rodgers’ death. Two of the OSP deaths were men in their early 30s: Roberto Ruiz, 31, who died at the prison on Nov. 26, and Aleksandr Petrenko, 33, who died at a local hospital on Dec. 12, according to DOC.
The department reported 44 total deaths in 2021. In comparison, 50 adults in custody died in 2020, Bernt says.
Seven of the 12 recent deaths were individuals in hospice care, she adds. “Many of our patients come to us in poor health, often related to lack of primary care and preventative services. In addition, as our population ages, we have seen increased morbidity and mortality that further adds to this problem.”