One of America’s most notorious serial killers has met a violent end behind bars.

Donald Harvey, infamously known as the “Angel of Death,” was found severely beaten in his cell at the Toledo Correctional Institution in Ohio on March 28, 2017. He died two days later on March 30, 2017, at the age of 64 from blunt force trauma injuries.

Harvey, a former nurse’s aide, was convicted of murdering at least 37 patients in hospitals across Ohio and Kentucky between 1970 and 1987. He later confessed to many more killings, with some estimates suggesting his total victim count could be as high as 87. He preyed on vulnerable patients, often claiming he was showing them “mercy.”

He had been serving multiple life sentences when fellow inmate James Elliott attacked him. Elliott was later convicted of aggravated murder and received an additional 25-years-to-life sentence.

The shocking death of the “Angel of Death” has reignited discussions about justice, prison violence, and whether notorious killers deserve protection while serving their sentences.

While many view this as a form of vigilante justice or “karma,” others argue that even the worst criminals should be protected under the law and serve their full sentences without fear of inmate violence.