Inmate ‘Eastside’ from Netflix prison docuseries has died aged 29
Topics: Netflix, Crime, Film and TV
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Netflix
Topics: Netflix, Crime, Film and TV
An inmate who appeared on Netflix's Unlocked: A Jail Experiment has died.
John McAllister - known as 'Eastside' on the experimental prison programme - was just 29.
The inmate was found unresponsive in his bunk on Sunday morning (2 June), with authorities later confirming to local Arkansas TV station KATV of the sad news.
KATV reports McAllister was transported to Jefferson Regional Medical Centre in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
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He was pronounced dead at the health care centre at 8.50am. No foul play or suicide is suspected.
The inmate was certainly a main player in the Netflix series after being incarcerated at Williams Correctional Facility in Pine Bluff.
He was given a three-year prison sentence last year after being convicted of ten felony counts related to drugs, breaking and entering, theft of property, and firearms possession.
It wasn't McAllister's first offence, as he had previously been incarcerated 14 times.
Offences stretched back to when he was 19 years old.
At Williams Correctional Facility, the inmate had been working as the prison tattoo artist and would regularly ink his fellow prisoners.
But McAllister certainly became a recognised face across the globe as he featured on Unlocked: A Jail Experiment.
The eight-part series, which premiered back in April, followed the lives of several inmates at the Pulaski County Regional Detention facility.
More interestingly, it explored whether or not prisoners could be trusted to govern themselves without guards.
Deputies were removed from the unit and a tier-based structure was put in place where prisoners who were on their best behavior would be rewarded.
And those who took part in the experiment were left baffled when the rules seemed to be suddenly relaxed.
McAllister was interviewed as part of the Netflix docuseries, as he reflected on his criminal past.
He spoke about how breaking the law had given him an 'adrenaline' rush.
"All I've been around is criminals… I love that adrenaline rush high, knowing you could get caught," he said.
Arkansas sheriff Eric Higgins spoke to Netflix's Tudum ahead of the release as he shared his bold vision for the series.
"We thought, ‘What can we do to create some ownership for those detainees in that unit? How do we make the facility safer, and what can we do to still hold them accountable but empower them at the same time?’'" he told the outlet.
LADbible Group has reached out to Netflix for comment.