Death Row Inmate From Los Angeles Found Unresponsive in San Quentin Cell

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A 61-year-old inmate who'd been on San Quentin State Prison's death row for more than a quarter-century for the 1990 murder of a nurse in Los Angeles died after being found unresponsive in his cell, authorities said today.

Corrections officers found Jose Francisco Guerra on Monday afternoon inside his single-person cell and staff “began immediate life-saving measures,'' according to a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation statement.

“Central Marin Fire Department arrived and took over medical care but were unsuccessful'' and Guerra was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the CDCR.

Guerra had been on death row since Dec. 6, 1993. The former construction worker was convicted of first-degree murder for killing Kathleen Powell, an emergency room nurse, in her Beverlywood home. He had been renovating a home next door.

The cause of Guerra's death will be determined by the Marin County coroner, CDCR officials said.

Photo: Getty Images