A man incarcerated at Limestone Correctional Facility in Harvest died in custody last week, an official confirmed Tuesday.

Matthew Blake Holmes was found unresponsive in his cell around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 14, said Bob Horton, public information manager for the Alabama Department of Corrections.

One of Holmes’ family members, who asked that their name be withheld, told The News Courier last week Holmes’ death was suicide. The family member said Holmes had been on suicide watch at some point prior to the suicide but was then taken off.

Horton could not address these and other questions because the case was still under investigation.

“The ADOC is waiting for the results of an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death,” he said. “An investigation into the inmate’s death is also ongoing.”

Although Holmes’ death has not been ruled a suicide, suicide is a growing concern in the state prison system.

The Southern Poverty Law Center sued the ADOC over its treatment of mentally ill inmates and has raised warnings about the prison system’s suicide rate. As of mid-February, there had been at least 14 suicides in the past 14 months, according to the group. The national average is 16 suicides per 100,000 prisoners. Overcrowding and too few guards are some of the problems cited by the prison system officials.

The SPLC has asked a federal judge for a temporary restraining order to address problems, including how the prison system supervises prisoners in segregation (isolation) and on suicide watch, according to Associated Press. On March 8, the ADOC and the SPLC are scheduled to issue a report on the suicide issue with recommendations on additional suicide prevention measures, which the prison system will implement, the Huntsville Times reported.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said in 2017 Alabama’s treatment of mentally ill inmates was unconstitutional, a violation of the constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment, according to AP.