Fort Madison prison placed on lockdown after inmate assault

A state corrections official Tuesday said the Iowa State Penitentiary maximum-security facility was placed under lockdown status after an inmate assaulted another prisoner in the Fort Madison penitentiary's Iowa Prison Industries Building.

The assault, which occurred at about 7 a.m. Monday, appeared to be an isolated incident, said Fred Scaletta, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections.

Prison staff members found the assaulted inmate lying on the floor and unresponsive, suffering from what appeared to be a head injury that caused serious bleeding, according to a statement issued by Scaletta. Responding staff and medical personnel provided first aid before the injured inmate was taken to Fort Madison Community Hospital and later transported to University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City for further treatment.

According the department's statement, the assaulted inmate “was only minimally responsive at the time of transport.” Additional lacerations and contusions were discovered on the assaulted inmate's neck and back, with surgery required to repair a decompressed vertebrae in the injured inmate's back, the statement said.

A suspect in the assault has been segregated and a search was under way for any weapons used in the attack, Scaletta said.

The incident remained under investigation on Tuesday and no names had been released, according to Scaletta. There were no staff injuries in the incident.

Also, in a separate incident Monday, an inmate at the Newton Correctional Facility identified as Allan Dale Fattig, 49, was discovered at 11:30 a.m. unresponsive on the bed in his minimum-security cell, according to a separate statement issued by Scaletta.

Efforts by emergency medical responders, correctional officers and Jasper County emergency medical responders failed to revive Fattig, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause of death was believed to be natural, however, Scaletta said an autopsy -- including toxicology testing -- had been ordered to confirm the cause of death. Results may not be known for four to six weeks.

Fattig was serving a 20-year sentence from Polk County for convictions on two drug-related offenses. He began serving his sentence on July 15, 2010.