Rhode Island

RI Correctional Officer Indicted on Manslaughter in Inmate Death

Geoffrey Peters faces the charge in connection with the death of Timothy McQuesten, who was found unresponsive in his cell on January 18, 2021

An undated image of a courtroom gavel.
NBC Connecticut

A Rhode Island correctional officer has been indicted on manslaughter charges in the death of an inmate in 2021, according to the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office.

Geoffrey Peters, 43, who was working for the Rhode Island Department of Corrections at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI), faces the charge in connection with the death of inmate Timothy McQuesten.

On January 18, 2021, correctional officers found inmate Timothy McQuesten unresponsive in his cell, according to WJAR-TV. He was taken to Rhode Island Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

McQuesten had been charged with the murders of a couple in Lincoln.

Prosecutors say that Peters owed a duty of care to McQuesten and that he was criminally negligent in that duty. More specifics were not immediately released.

Peters is scheduled to be arraigned at Providence County Superior Court on July 20, 2022.

The Rhode Island State Police and Office of the Attorney General are leading the investigation with the cooperation of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections, Office of Inspections. 

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