South Dakota prison inmate dies of non-COVID-19 related illness

Danielle Ferguson
Sioux Falls Argus Leader
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A state prison inmate died this weekend, according to the South Dakota Department of Corrections. 

Lorenzo Benallie died on Sunday after an extended illness, according to a department release. The illness wasn't related to COVID-19, according to the release. 

Benallie, 44, died in a comfort care setting at the Jameson Annex to the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls.

"The comfort care setting allows a terminally ill inmate to receive palliative care within the correctional environment while providing for respect and dignity during the end-of-life experience," according to the department. 

Benallie was serving a life sentence for second-degree murder out of Mellette County for the 1996 stabbing death of Joe Moran.

Email reporter Danielle Ferguson at dbferguson@argusleader.com, or follow on Twitter at @DaniFergs.