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64-year-old San Quentin death row inmate dies; no foul play suspected

This Aug. 24, 2018, photo released by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shows Johnny Mungia, a 64-year-old death row inmate who died on March 16, 2021, at a hospital. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP)

This Aug. 24, 2018, photo shows Johnny Mungia, a death row inmate. (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation via AP)

A 64-year-old California death row inmate died Tuesday at a hospital and authorities said they do not suspect foul play.

Johnny Mungia was sentenced to death by a Riverside County jury in 1997 in the killing of 73-year-old Alma Franklin, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.


An official cause of death for Mungia is pending the results of an autopsy by the Marin County coroner, the department said.

Mungia was placed on death row in San Quentin on April 14, 1997.

Since 1978, when California reinstated capital punishment, 99 condemned inmates have died from natural causes. Another 29 have died by suicide, 13 were executed in California, one was executed in Missouri, one was executed in Virginia, 15 have died from other causes and seven — including Mungia — are pending a cause of death, the department said.

There are 705 people on California’s death row.