An Inmate is Found Dead in Cumberland County Jail Maine

Front of Jail Cell

In news out of Maine, officials say that a Cumberland County Jail inmate was found deceased in their cell at approximately 9:50 a.m. on Friday, August 22, 2025. Although first responders administered lifesaving measures, the individual could not be revived. The family hadn’t yet been notified when the report was released. Therefore, officials are withholding the inmate’s name at this time.

The Portland Police Department is conducting the death investigation in cooperation with the Department of Corrections (DOC) and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

The address of the Cumberland County Jail is 50 County Way, Portland, ME 04102. The jail’s bed capacity is 570.

Deaths in Maine Jails are Frequently Due to Suicide, Accident, or Overdose

A detailed report by a watchdog group released on May 1, 2023, gleaned much of their information from a months-long investigation by a news outlet into custodial deaths in Maine. Within 34 months, the investigators found that there were 39 deaths in Maine’s jails and prisons. Access to information about jail deaths is more challenging in Maine than in other states. However, some statistics emerged from the research, and the following are among them:

Between October 2019 and August 2022, 20.5% of the deaths were suicides.
Another 20.5% of the Maine jail and prison deaths were due to accidents or overdose.
Half of the custodial deaths in Maine were by natural causes, such as advanced age or disease.

The combined 41% of deaths caused by suicide, overdose, or accident could be reduced by DOC policy and procedure. Some corrections experts believe that virtually all jail suicides could be prevented. The same is true of deaths by sepsis. The researchers found that a death due to sepsis in Maine’s Somerset County Jail was reported as a death by natural cause. In Maine’s Franklin County Jail, a withdrawal death of an inmate after detoxing was reported as an “unavailable” cause of death. A woman who died in Maine’s York County jail just hours after she went through the booking process was one of seven deaths that were classified as “accidental” and involved overdoses.

It is required in Maine that corrections facilities must report all in-custody deaths to the Department of Justice (DOJ). However, in fiscal year 2021, nearly 1,000 deaths nationwide were not reported.

Somerset County Jail is located at 131 E Madison Rd, Madison, Maine 04950.
The address of Franklin County Jail is 121 County Way, Farmington, Maine 04938.
York County Jail is at 1 Layman Way, Alfred, Maine 04002.

Inmate Deaths in Maine County Jails

Monica J. Johnson, 38, was booked into Hancock County Jail on September 21, 2018, and she died eight days later by suicide on September 29, 2018. The family alleges that Ms. Johnson’s suicide was the result of reckless negligence. The jail staff allegedly failed to provide Ms. Johnson with adequate mental and medical health care during her incarceration. The address of Hancock County Jail is 50 State St, Ellsworth, Maine 04605.

Nicole Turner died of a suspected overdose in York County Jail, and William Tucker, 65, died of suspected suicide in the Alfred, Maine, jail in 2022.

Tamara Miles, 48, died on July 7, 2023, after incarceration in the Oxford County Jail. Her death was unexpected, and an investigation ensued. The Oxford County Jail’s address is 26 Western Ave, South Paris, Maine 04281.

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