***PRESS RELEASE***

Newport, Vermont -  In response to a number of media inquiries, the Orleans County State's Attorney's Office is providing an update relating to the death of Mr. Kenneth Johnson who was an inmate at the Northern State Correctional Facility at the time of his death in December 2019. As reported earlier, the Orleans County State's Attorney's Office has been actively working with the Vermont State Police on the death investigation, and has engaged Vermont's Chief Medical Examiner and the Office of Professional Regulation in the ongoing investigation.  The State's Attorney's Office is continuing a thorough review of all information, documents and media, and will be finalizing a decision regarding prosecution once the Vermont State Police's investigation is complete.  The Attorney General's Office has recently requested a copy of the to-date investigative to review.   "The death of Mr. Johnson was tragic; and I want to assure our citizens that the collaboration and investigative-efforts from the various agencies reflects our commitment to thorough fact-finding and decision-making in this case", said State's Attorney Jennifer Barrett.