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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Airway Heights inmate found dead

George Tate. (Washington Department of Corrections)
An inmate at Airway Heights Corrections Center was found dead early this morning. George Tate, 63, was found unresponsive in his cell about 1 a.m., then pronounced dead at 1:25 a.m., according to the prison. Tate, who was serving a sentence for a sex crime against a child, was scheduled to be released in March 2010, according to the prison. Tate was first admitted to prison in 1967 on a carnal knowledge charge, according to the Washington Department of Corrections. The charge carried a minimum 20-year sentence, and he went back to prison in November 1980 after being convicted of first-degree rape, prison records show. That charge carried a 30-year sentence. His cause of death is not yet known, prison spokeswoman Risa Klemme said. “It’s an unexpected death,” Klemme said.