Inmate killed during fight at a Philly prison

A prisoner at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility was killed in a fight with another inmate early Wednesday morning, police said.

At around 12:15 a.m., a correctional officer found a 28-year-old man lying on the floor of his cell at the prison on State Road, said John Mitchell, spokesperson for the Philadelphia Department of Prisons. The man was attacked by his cellmate, a 41-year-old man, Mitchell said.

Although medical staff attempted lifesaving measures, Alexander Rosa, of North Philadelphia, was pronounced dead minutes later, at 12:30 a.m., authorities said.

Rosa was in custody after a March 9 arrest on assault charges. His cellmate, Direll Skipworth, who was jailed on drug charges, was taken to the hospital with head trauma, records show.

No weapon was recovered, authorities said, and a preliminary examinationshowed that the injuries Rosa sustained were the result of the fight inside the cell. No charges have been filed against Skipworth, police said.

The motive for the fight was unclear.

The death marks the third homicide in five months in Philadelphia’s prison system. And it comes at a time when city prisons have come under scrutiny amid concerns about conditions for incarcerated people and a series of escapes.

Philadelphia jails have been under review by a federal monitor for more than a year, as part of the settlement of a class-action lawsuit over violence, prolonged lockdowns, and staffing shortages alleged by civil rights lawyers representing incarcerated people.

The Philadelphia Department of Prisons did not admit to any civil rights violations in the agreement.