Civil rights group wants independent probe into the record number of deaths in Alaska prisons

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska is asking the courts to order an independent investigation into the Alaska Department of Corrections after a record number of deaths were reported last year. The ACLU request came when it announced separate lawsuits against the state Department of Corrections on behalf of two men who died by suicide while in prison in the last year. The Anchorage Daily News reports that the lawsuits, filed on behalf of family members of the two men, seek financial settlements and the outside investigation. State officials said Friday that they could not comment because they have not been served with the lawsuits.