Star of Netflix prison show Unlocked dies age 29: Inmate John McAllister dubbed 'Eastside' in hit series is found dead in his cell

One of the breakout stars of Netflix's hugely controversial documentary series Unlocked has died at the age of 29 just 30 days before he was due to be released. 

John 'Eastside' McAllister was found dead in his bunk in Randall Williams Correctional Facility in Arkansas, on June 2, officials said. 

His family said that the inmate's cause of death as not been established. 

The premise of Unlocked: A Jail Experiment saw inmates given a degree of independence and autonomy within the prison. The eight-part series began airing in April.  

Authorities said that McAllister was rushed to Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, where he was pronounced dead just before 9:00am. 

Murder and suicide have been ruled out by officials.

John McAllister, 29, pictured during the filming of Netflix's Unlocked 

McAllister's humor in the face of such bleak conditions made a fan favorite on the show 

McAllister was serving time for ten drug-related felony counts, breaking and entering, theft of property and gun possession. He pleaded guilty in 2023 and was sentenced to three years hard time. 

The late inmate had a long criminal history stretching back to when he was 19 years. He claimed on the series to have done 14 different stretches behind bars. 

On the show, McAllister is featured running a tattoo parlor inside of his prison cell. 

During one episode, he explained that being on the wrong side of the law gave him an 'adrenaline rush high' and that he spent his life around criminals. 

A GoFundMe page has been set up for McAllister by his aunt, Melissa Regan. The time of writing, the page has raised $340 of a $15,000 goal. 

The money will be used to pay for McAllister's funeral in Arkansas and fly in family members who live in Omaha, Nebraska.

'His sudden passing has left our family devastated. The cause of his death is under investigation,' one section of the page reads. 

The family says that a celebration of life will take place for the public. 

In a 2016 Facebook post, his aunt accused of McAllister and his girlfriend of stealing a range of electronics from her home, including an XBox and a laptop. His aunt said that her nephew was struggling with a meth addiction at the time. 

On his Facebook, McAllister said that he attended Omaha North Magnet High School in Nebraska and was living in Vilonia, Arkansas, prior to his incarceration, since August 2021. 

In the show, McAllister operated a tattoo parlor outside of his prison cell 

In a GoFundMe page that has been set up by his family, his aunt said that relatives have been left shocked by McAllister's sudden passing 

Last month, Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins defended the decision to allow the series to be filmed at the county jail. 

The decision has prompted scrutiny from local and state officials, who said they weren't aware of the series until shortly before its premiere. 

The series focuses on a six-week experiment that gave inmates in one cellblock more freedom by unlocking their cell doors. Higgins said he did not approach Netflix or Lucky 8, the production company that filmed it, about the series.  

'I took action to ensure that we have a reentry program to help those who are booked into our facility to come out and be better individuals,' Higgins told members of the Joint Performance Review Committee.

Republican Sen. Jonathan Dismang said he doesn't have a problem with the sheriff's reentry program or trying something new to address recidivism. 

But he said he was concerned with it being the focus of a show, and questioned how it could be considered an experiment if it was being filmed.

'I think it's an exploitation of your prisoners that you allowed a film crew to come in,' Dismang said.

Unlocked: A Jail Experiment follows an experiment by Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins that sees the inmates allowed to seemingly roam free inside the Pulaski County jail in Little Rock 

Arkansas officials are probing a $60,000 payment made by producers of Netflix 's controversial Unlocked docuseries 

Another Republican lawmaker said he was worried about what the show would do to the state's reputation, comparing it to a 1994 HBO documentary about gangs in Little Rock.

'For most of the people that watched this docuseries, this is the first time they've ever been exposed to Pulaski County, or perhaps to the state of Arkansas,' Rep. David Ray said. 

'I worry about the brand damage that our state sustains from this being the first perception of our state to other people.' 

Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde — the county's top elected administrator — said he wasn't aware of the series until he saw a trailer before its premiere. 

Hyde has said that the agreement between the sheriff and the production company was illegal because Hyde didn't sign it. The county has since returned a $60,000 check from the production company that filmed the series.

Higgins, a Democrat who was first elected in 2018 and is the county's first Black sheriff, has had the backing of some community members. 

The Little Rock chapter of the NAACP has supported Higgins' decision, and supporters of the sheriff filled a committee room for Tuesday's hearing.

Democratic Sen. Linda Chesterfield said Higgins' supporters are looking for 'someone to provide humane treatment for people who have been treated inhumanely.'

'We are viewing this through different lenses, and it's important we respect the lenses through which we view it,' Chesterfield said.