Inmate arrested after apparent beating death at Idaho prison

Associated Press

BOISE – Authorities have arrested a suspect in the apparent beating death of an inmate at the Idaho State Correctional Institution south of Boise.

The Idaho Statesman reported security workers responded to an altercation in a housing unit early Saturday morning and found 57-year-old Gerald B. Cummings Jr. unresponsive and injured. Cummings was pronounced dead a little more than an hour later.

Patrick Orr, a spokesman for the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, said another inmate was arrested for the death. His name has not been released.

Cummings was serving three sentences for possession of controlled substance convictions in Twin Falls County District Court. He would have completed his final sentence in July 2025.

The Idaho State Correctional Institution is a 1,557-bed, medium-security men’s prison.