Former Parchman Chief Dies

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) – Donald A. Cabana, who ran the state penitentiary at Parchman and wrote about his experiences with death row inmates, has died. He was 67.

Mississippi corrections officials say Cabana died Monday at Wesley Medical Center in Hattiesburg after a long illness. Funeral services are pending.

Cabana spent 40 years in corrections including stints as warden at Parchman and commissioner of the Department of Corrections. He also was chairman of the criminal justice programs at the University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey University. He also worked as warden at the Harrison County jail.

In the 1980s, Cabana supervised two executions, that of Edward Earl Johnson and Connie Ray Evans.

In his memoir – “Death At Midnight: The Confessions of an Executioner” – Cabana recounted his experiences with death row inmates.