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Claiborne County Jail Administrator Tim Shrout has confirmed that an inmate has died. The details are currently sketchy pending the results of an autopsy on deceased inmate Clinton Buchanan, 57, who died inside the jail on July 9.

“There have been a lot of rumors floating around that I cannot comment on other than the fact that there have been a lot of accusations that someone might have harmed him. That is completely untrue,” said Shrout. “He was sent for an autopsy and we’ll know more once we get a preliminary result back.”

Shrout, who was on duty when Buchanan was first discovered unresponsive on Sunday, is adamant that the inmate was not in an altercation of any kind with another inmate nor with a corrections officer.

“There are some issues that I can’t comment on, but he did speak with our medical upon arrival. We had medics respond immediately,” said Shrout.

The preliminary autopsy findings are expected to be completed within the next week.

This is a developing story and the Claiborne Progress will have more as new information becomes available.

In another matter, the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office has had its fair share of scams. The most recent of these involves phone calls from individuals claiming to represent the CCSO in an attempt to scam money.

“Please take notice that at no time and for no reason will anyone from the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office call you and ask for payment due to missing a court date, jury duty or any other activity associated with law enforcement or the court system,” said Claiborne Sheriff Bob Brooks. “If you receive a call asking for money from any law enforcement agency, immediately hang up. These are not legitimate calls and this is not how my office or any law enforcement office conducts business.”