Prison inmate James Blum dies

IOWA CITY – James Dean Blum was pronounced dead due to natural causes at 7:58 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7, 2021 at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He was originally an inmate at the Iowa Medical and Classification Center in Coralville. Blum was 81 years old at the time of his death.

Blum had been serving a 50-year sentence for the crime of Murder 2nd Degree from Washington County. His sentence began on February 22, 2011.