WA- Dead inmate was testicular shock test subject

3-29-2009 Washington:

SPOKANE, Wash. -- A state prison inmate who died of unexplained causes participated in testicular shock experiments that led to a federal lawsuit.

Investigators are awaiting test results that could indicate why 63-year-old George D. Tate (tah-TAY') died. He was found unresponsive March 18 in his cell at the Airway Heights Corrections Center west of Spokane. Prison spokeswoman Risa Klemme says he is not believed to have committed suicide.

Tate spent much of his life in prison on sex charges, including first-degree rape in 1980.

The Spokesman-Review newspaper reports that he was among dozens of prisoners who agreed to be guinea pigs in testicular shock tests funded by the Atomic Energy Commission.

The tests were conducted from 1963 to 1970 to study the effect of radiation on male fertility. Tate was paid $15. ..News Source.. by Seattlepi.com