Montana's attorney general has declined a request by Tribal leaders for an investigation into the death of Allen John "A.J." Long Soldier, 18, while he was incarcerated at the Hill County Detention Center.

"Under Montana law, the inquest following the death of a person while incarcerated is narrow in scope, and does not touch on many of the issues you raise in your letter," Attorney General Steve Bullock wrote in a response.

In May, the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council, chaired by James Steele Jr., sent a letter requesting that the basketball phenom's Nov. 23 death be investigated.

In the letter, Steele enumerated 10 questions, including accounta b i l i t y f o r Lo n g Soldier's death, the coroner's inquest held in March and whether his race played a role in his treatment and subsequent death.

After a half hour of d e l i b e r a t i o n s i n March, jurors found no gross negl igence in Long Soldier's death, which they concurred was from acute alcohol withdrawal.

The attorney general's office reviewed the documents of the inquest, Bullock wrote, and found that the information was presented accurately and fairly during the inquest.

"Further, in my opinion they do not provide sufficient evidence to support the conclusion that Mr. Long Soldier died as a result of criminal means," he continued.

"If additional evidence comes to light showing criminal conduct resulting in Mr. Long Soldier's death, the possibility of criminal prosecution remains," he said.

Bullock also wrote that the investigation and inquest were conducted by an outside coroner, in this case Dick Brown from Fergus County, not by Hi l l County Attorney Gina Dahl, who is married to t h e H i l l C o u n t y Detention Center administrator.

Steele questioned in the letter whether a conflict of interest existed in Dahl's participation during the inquest.

"What will be done to sanction the Hill County Attorney for adding unnecessary complications to an already distressing circumstance?"  The letter said.

"Because A.J. was obviously Indian, incarcerated in county-run facilities, overseen by non-Indian jailors and supervisors, strong concern exists that his lack of adequate care was because of his race," Steele wrote in the letter.

The state does not have set standards for the operation of county jails, Bullock wrote.

As for accountability, Bullock wrote that Long Soldier's mother, Dayna Bear, has filed a complaint wi th the H u m a n R i g h t s Commission about her son's death and that civil proceedings may address many of the concerns raised by Tribal leaders.