Panhandle man serving time for manslaughter dies in custody
A 69-year-old Panhandle man serving decades in prison has died in custody.
By News Channel Nebraska
LINCOLN, Neb. -- A 69-year-old Panhandle man serving decades in prison has died in custody.
According to the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, George Smith died Friday at the Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln.
Smith was serving a sentence of 30 to 40 years on charges of manslaughter and use of a weapon to commit a felony out of Box Butte County.
The Alliance man was found guilty in 2021 of fatally stabbing another man during a 2020 argument.
Smith had been charged with second-degree murder, but the jury instead handed down a guilty verdict for manslaughter and felony use of a deadly weapon in the death of 42-year old Stephen Oliver.
The cause of death has not yet been determined. As is the case whenever an inmate dies in NDCS custody, a grand jury will conduct an investigation.