After an Iowa inmate’s death, state prison nurse’s license is suspended for 90 days

Iowa regulators have suspended the license of a state-employed nurse accused of providing inadequate care for a prison inmate who died hours later.

In October 2025, the board charged Penny Lynn Daniels of Newton, a registered nurse who worked for the Iowa Department of Corrections, with committing an act that might adversely affect a patient’s welfare, failing to assess or accurately document a patient’s status, and committing an act that causes physical, emotional or financial injury to a patient.

According to the board, Daniels worked for the state at the Newton Correctional Facility in September 2024 when she failed to provide an inmate with adequate medical care. The board alleges other medical personnel informed Daniels of the inmate’s “worsening symptoms,” which included fever, nausea and vomiting. According to the board, she added electrolyte fluid to his medication order but did not assess his condition and informed others that the inmate had a virus. The inmate died a short time later from a perforated ulcer.

The Board of Nursing resolved the disciplinary case with a settlement agreement that calls for Daniels’ license to be suspended for three months. Daniels must also complete educational training in the area of ethics and maintaining professional boundaries with patients, although it’s not clear how those subjects are related to the charges in Daniels’ case.

After 90 days, Daniels’ license will be placed on probationary status for three years, during which her practice will be subject to monitoring.

According to board records, the board first issued Daniels an Iowa registered nurse’s license in July 2012. State employment records indicate that from 2015 through 2017, she worked for the Iowa Department of Human Services at the Glenwood Resource Center for individuals with disabilities. In 2018, Daniels began working for the Iowa Department of Corrections, earning up to $93,000 per year as a registered nurse there.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch was not able to reach Daniels for comment Monday.

Death led to other board charges and a lawsuit

Court records indicate the disciplinary case against Daniels stems from the September 2025 death of Malga Harun Yanga at the Newton Correctional Facility.

A civil lawsuit filed by Yanga’s estate against Daniels, the State of Iowa and others, alleges Yanga had a week-long history of stomach pain, diarrhea and vomiting blood by the time he twice saw Daniels on Sept. 3, 2024.

By that time, the lawsuit claims, Yanga had “vomited such a large amount of blood, it was all over his hands and the floor of his cell and multiple inmates had to clean it up.”  The lawsuit alleges Daniels was informed that Yanga continued to vomit blood, was unable to speak, had severe abdominal pain, and could not walk — and that Daniels did not perform any additional nursing assessments or request a physician assessment.

About 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2024, a cellmate of Yanga’s banged on the door and yelled for help from correctional officers, saying Yanga was unresponsive, seizing and making “jerking, twitching” movements. The lawsuit alleges a correctional officer refused the cellmate’s request for medical attention by stating Yanga had already been to the medical clinic and “we’re not taking him again.”

At 5 a.m., Yanga’s cellmate again called out for help, after which corrections officers found Yanga unresponsive. The officers allegedly initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation before pronouncing Yanga dead about 45 minutes later.

The defendants in the civil case have denied any wrongdoing. The case is scheduled to be tried on May 4, 2027.

One of Daniels’ co-defendants in that lawsuit is registered nurse David Allen Arterburn of Altoona. Like Daniels, Arterburn worked at the Newton prison and saw Yanga in the days before his death, the lawsuit alleges. The Iowa Board of Nursing has charged Arterburn with committing an act that may adversely affect the welfare of a patient, failing to assess or report the status of a patient, and committing an act that causes physical, emotional or financial injury to a patient.

A board hearing in the Arterburn disciplinary case is scheduled for July 17, 2026. Iowa Capital Dispatch was unable to reach Arterburn for comment on Monday.