A man was found dead at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman Wednesday morning, bringing the death toll of inmates in the agency's custody to 10 since Dec. 29.

In a tweet, Mississippi Department of Corrections called the death an "apparent suicide."

Sunflower County Coroner Heather Burton said in a news release when guards found the inmate hanging in his cell in Unit 29, they cut him down and began CPR immediately. He was pronounced dead at 10:47 a.m., Burton said.

Prison crisis:Two more Mississippi inmates killed at Parchman prison. Inmate death toll reaches nine.

MDOC on Wednesday night identified the man as Thomas Lee, 49, who pleaded guilty to capital murder in 2014 for the death of Grenada police Capt. Wayne Haddock. Lee was serving life without parole. Haddock was struck by a fleeing car in 2011 while attempting to lay tire spikes across a highway to stop a car, in which Lee was a passenger.

Officers found Lee in his one-man cell in Unit 29 at Parchman after 10 p.m. and performed CPR before he was pronounced dead, MDOC said. The coroner said the death appeared consistent with hanging, but cause and manner of death are pending an autopsy.

Mississippi prisons:Jay-Z lawsuit. Deaths. Riots. Gang violence. What you need to know about Mississippi's troubled prisons

Ten men have died while in MDOC custody since Dec. 29. Eight of them were inmates at Parchman. MDOC has attributed some of the deaths to gang-related violence.

Information about the inmates and their deaths are from MDOC or Sunflower County Coroner Heather Burton:

Dec. 29 — Terrandance Dobbins, 40, was killed in what MDOC called a "major disturbance" at South Mississippi Correctional Institution

Jan. 1 — Walter Gates, 25, died of multiple stab wounds at Parchman

Jan. 2 — Gregory Emary, 26, was killed in a fight at the Chickasaw County Regional Facility

Jan. 2 — Roosevelt Holliman, 32, was stabbed to death in a "gang fight" at Parchman, according to the coroner

Jan. 3 — Denorris Howell, 36, died at Parchman of neck injuries after an altercation with his cellmate

Jan. 8 — A.D. Mills, a 42-year-old Parchman inmate, died of "natural causes" at a hospital in Clarksdale

Jan. 18 — Gabriel Carmen, 31, was found hanging in his cell at Parchman

Jan. 21 — Timothy Hudspeth, 35, died at Parchman of what appeared to be blunt force beating injuries following an altercation with other inmates

Jan. 21 — James Talley, 36, died at Parchman of what appeared to be blunt force beating injuries following an altercation with other inmates

Who are they? Inmates killed during Mississippi's prison violence

An unknown number of other inmates have been injured in the recent violence. MDOC spokeswoman Grace Fisher previously said the numbers of injuries is pending verification while an investigation is ongoing.

Mississippi, which has the third highest per capita incarceration rate in the country, has seen lawmakers cut drastically funding to prisons in recent years. MDOC officials have sounded the alarm on deteriorating and unsafe housing at Parchman as well as a chronic understaffing crisis.

Videos leaked from inmates and health inspector reports show insect infestations, mold-covered walls and holes in the wall at Parchman. Many cells do not have power, mattresses and running water.

Former MDOC Commissioner Pelicia Hall warned last year the agency is in a "pressure cooker" situation because of hundreds of unfilled jobs in security. Mississippi correctional officers are among the lowest paid in the country.

Without enough guards, inmates are victims of violence and fear for their lives, alleges a lawsuit filed this month by 29 men incarcerated at Parchman. The lawsuit claims the conditions inside Mississippi prisons amount to cruel and unusual punishment. The plaintiffs are represented by lawyers working with hip-hop stars Jay-Z and Yo-Gotti.

In a news conference last week, Gov. Tate Reeves said the current state of Mississippi's prison system has allowed for a "catastrophe." He announced initial plans to "right the ship" at MDOC, starting with appointment of interim Commissioner Tommy Taylor and the launch of a nationwide search for a new commissioner.

Contact Alissa Zhu at azhu@gannett.com. Follow @AlissaZhu on Twitter.