When Maine State Prison inmate Victor Valdez died in custody in November 2009, it sparked an outcry among prisoner and human rights advocates...

Valdez’s death also has led to art. George Swanson, a 78-year-old Episcopal priest and musician from the village of Manset on Mount Desert Island, is writing a folk opera titled “Natural Causes Killed Victor.” In it, a cast of nine singers use music to explore what happened that day at Maine State Prison. It is allegorical, Swanson said, adding that some early listeners have told him they see that Valdez’s death is akin to the passion and death of Christ.