a 46-year-old death row inmate hanged himself in his cell at San Quentin State Prison.

a 46-year-old death row inmate hanged himself in his cell at San Quentin State Prison.
James David Tulk, who was sentenced to death for the 1990 rape and murder of a woman, was found about 11:25 p.m. Thursday hanging from a bed sheet tied to his upper bunk, said Lt. Eric Messick, a spokesman.
Even though they live alone, many death row inmates have double bunks and usually use the top one as a shelf, Messick said.
"This is a very determined person," Messick said, describing how an inmate would need to be in a near-kneeling position to asphyxiate. "You'd have to fight away your survival instinct."
Tulk was fine when his cell was checked at 10 p.m., Messick said. Officers do hourly checks on the prison's 619 death row inmates.
The last confirmed suicide on death row took place in 1997, according to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.