Prison News | Inmate Suicides

• Del. Prison Officials Appeal Third Circuit Ruling in Suicide Case
  
  The state filed a motion indicating it intends to ask the high court to reverse a September precedential decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit waiving qualified immunity against government officials for actions taken by their subordinates if the officials' own actions demonstrate an indifference to known deficiencies in policy or procedure. As a result of the Third Circuit's ruling, the widow and children of Christopher Barkes, an inmate who hanged himself in 2004, can sue former Department of Correction Commissioner Stanley Taylor and Raphael Williams, the warden at Howard R. Young Correctional Institution at the time o...[more]
  Delaware Law Weekly, Thursday, November 6, 2014
  
  
• Orleans Parish Prison inmate's suicide was preventable, civil rights lawsuit claims
  
  The wrongful death lawsuit, filed in federal court on Monday, claims Gusman's office was on notice about inadequate handling of mentally ill inmates by the time Clifton Morgan killed himself in the troubled lockup. A consent decree mandating widespread changes was in place three months before Morgan's Sept. 28, 2013 death....[more]
  Times-Picayune, Thursday, July 31, 2014
  
  
• Washington Prisons Will No Longer Punish Inmates For 'Self-Harm'
  
  Washington’s prison system has announced a major policy change when it comes to inmates who harm themselves. The Department of Corrections said Thursday that it will no longer sanction inmates for cutting or other acts of self-injury....[more]
  Legal Monitor Online, Thursday, July 3, 2014
  
  
• Federal lawsuit over inmate’s suicide in 2008 at Portland jail to go forward
  
  PORTLAND, Maine — A portion of a wrongful death lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court by the mother of an inmate who committed suicide while incarcerated at the Cumberland County Jail in 2008 will go forward after the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month upheld a decision by a federal judge in Maine.......[more]
  Bangor Daily News, Sunday, June 15, 2014
  
  
• Leslie Schuler, Worcester man who killed son, kills self in prison
  
  WORCESTER — Leslie G. Schuler, the Worcester man convicted of beating his 7-year-old son to death on Father's Day 2009, committed suicide in prison this morning, according a spokesman for the state Department of Correction. ...[more]
  Worcester Telegram and Gazette, Saturday, May 24, 2014
  
  
• British former public school boy serving life for beheading U.S. reporter Daniel Pearl attempts to commit suicide in Pakistani prison
  
  A British man serving life imprisonment in Pakistan for the killing of American reporter Daniel Pearl has tried to commit suicide, police have said....[more]
  Mail Online, Monday, February 17, 2014
  
  
• State to pay cost of Cleveland kidnapper autopsy
  
  COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state prisons agency has agreed to reimburse county taxpayers for the autopsy of Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro after his prison suicide last year....[more]
  Associated Press, Thursday, February 6, 2014
  
  
• Coroner: Montgomery man convicted in parents' murders killed self in prison
  
  MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Authorities say a man convicted of murdering his parents in Montgomery almost nine years ago committed suicide in prison....[more]
  Associated Press, Monday, November 4, 2013
  
  
• Ohio death row inmate called suicide inevitable
  
  COLUMBUS, OHIO — An Ohio death row inmate who killed himself just days before his execution called his suicide inevitable in a three-page note and expressed resentment that Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro got a life sentence, according to a police report released Thursday....[more]
  Associated Press, Thursday, October 24, 2013
  
  
• Inmate awaiting trial in Kentucky HOA deaths kills himself
  
  LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An inmate awaiting trial on charges of killing two men at a homeowners association meeting committed suicide by hanging himself from a bed sheet in his cell, jail officials said....[more]
  Associated Press, Sunday, October 20, 2013
  
  
• Ariel Castro 'died of auto erotic asphyxiation' and NOT suicide. Had pants round his ankles when guards cut him down
  
  Ohio officials suggest in a new report it's possible Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro may have died of auto-erotic asphyxiation, not suicide....[more]
  Mail Online, Thursday, October 10, 2013
  
  
• Attorney: Utah prison murder meant to look like suicide
  
  When 62-year-old Rolando Cardona-Gueton was found dead April 20 in his cell at the prison in Gunnison on, it looked like he may have committed suicide....[more]
  Salt Lake Tribune, Friday, September 27, 2013
  
  
• Vt. officials: prisons see more suicide attempts
  
  MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Suicide attempts in Vermont prisons have increased, said officials from the state Department of Corrections....[more]
  Associated Press, Tuesday, September 24, 2013
  
  
• Overcrowded prison conditions ‘a recipe for suicide’
  
  Procedures to handle emergency situations are in place in Malta’s only prison, but cannot always be implemented for lack of staff to cope with a skyrocketing inmate population....[more]
  Malta Today, Sunday, September 15, 2013
  
  
• Ariel Castro found dead in prison
  
  Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro has been found dead inside his cell at the Correction Reception Centre in Orient, Ohio, according to prison authorities....[more]
  RTE.ie, Wednesday, September 4, 2013
  
  
• Man Who Held Ohio Women Captive Is Found Dead
  
  Ariel Castro, the Cleveland man sentenced last month to life in prison for holding three women captive in his home for a decade, was found hanging in his prison cell on Tuesday night after apparently committing suicide, officials said. He was later declared dead at the hospital....[more]
  New York Times Online, Wednesday, September 4, 2013
  
  
• Autopsy shows Woodbury County Jail death of 32-year-old inmate was suicide
  
  The agency says in a news release Tuesday that 32-year-old Thomas Huisman was found unresponsive in his cell on Saturday and couldn't be revived....[more]
  Associated Press, Tuesday, August 20, 2013
  
  
• Inmate serving robbery sentence dies at Malvern unit; agency says death was self-inflicted
  
  MALVERN, Ark. (AP) - Officials say a 45-year-old inmate was found dead at the state prison in Malvern. The Arkansas Department of Correction says Steve Oldham died Thursday night from an apparent self-inflicted wound. Agency spokeswoman Shea ......[more]
  Associated Press, Friday, August 9, 2013
  
  
• Kidnap-murder suspect commits suicide in San Bernardino County detention center
  
  The Riverside Press-Enterprise says a cellmate discovered 18-year-old Richard Gonzalez hanging from a bedsheet in his cell Wednesday night at a detention center in Rancho Cucamonga — one day before his scheduled court hearing. He was pronounced dead at a hospital....[more]
  Associated Press, Friday, August 9, 2013
  
  
• California prison officials investigating inmate's death amid hunger strike as suicide by hanging
  
  CORCORAN, Calif. (AP) - California prison officials are investigating a death of an inmate as an apparent suicide by hanging that they say had no connection to a system-wide hunger strike....[more]
  Associated Press, Sunday, July 28, 2013
  
  
• Man, 21, 'who shot childhood friend and hid body in his trunk' commits suicide in prison on anniversary of her death
  
  A man who was charged with the murder of his childhood friend has hanged himself in his jail cell on the anniversary of her death. Enrico Mascaro, 21, was discovered dead in his cell at 11.30pm on Sunday in Dare County Jail, North Carolina....[more]
  Mail Online, Thursday, July 18, 2013
  
  
• Suicides show prisons need help caring for mentally ill
  
  Regarding the July 2 Metro article "After suicides, jail makes changes, will review policies": In the wake of two recent suicides at the D.C. jail, the D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC) must and will aggressively ensure that all available ......[more]
  Washington Post, Thursday, July 18, 2013
  
  
• The Role of Corrections Professionals in Preventing Suicide
  
  This report discusses the role correctional officers must play in dealing with inmate suicides. Especially, those officers in jails. The suicide rate for local jails is about four times that of the U.S. as a whole with the rate for jails of 100 beds or less being nearly 10 times greater. Sections of this publication cover: inmates and suicide risk; recognizing the warning signs; responding to the warning signs; and procedures addressing suicide prevention in correctional facilities....[more]
  The Sentencing Project, Wednesday, July 17, 2013
  
  
• Sheriff: Alcorn County jail inmate dies in an apparent suicide.
  
  CORINTH, Miss. (AP) - Alcorn County Sheriff Charles Rinehart says an inmate has died at the county jail in an apparent suicide. The inmate has been identified as 31-year-old Michael Frazier....[more]
  Associated Press, Tuesday, July 16, 2013
  
  
• Inmate who killed self in Ore. prison had history of suicide attempts
  
  ALBANY, Ore. (AP) - An 18-year-old woman who killed herself in an Oregon prison last week had a history of mental illness that included suicide attempts....[more]
  Associated Press, Saturday, July 13, 2013
  
  
• Death of Ariz. serial killer last month ruled a suicide, antidepressant meds found in system
  
  FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) - The death of a convicted Arizona serial killer whose body was discovered last month in an isolation cell was ruled a suicide Thursday by a medical examiner who said the gunman who once terrorized Phoenix had overdosed ......[more]
  Associated Press, Thursday, July 11, 2013
  
  
• Police: Central NY jail inmate committed suicide
  
  ORISKANY, N.Y. (AP) — Officials are investigating the suicide of 19-year-old jail central New York inmate who hanged himself with a bed sheet....[more]
  Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, July 10, 2013
  
  
• ISP investigating apparent suicide at Nez Perce County jail
  
  LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) - The Idaho State Police is investigating an apparent suicide at the Nez Perce County Jail in Lewiston. The sheriff's office says detention officers found 52-year-old Jeffrey Admyers of Lewiston unconscious at around ......[more]
  Associated Press, Tuesday, July 9, 2013
  
  
• ISP investigating apparent suicide at Nez Perce County jail
  
  LEWISTON, Idaho (AP) - The Idaho State Police is investigating an apparent suicide at the Nez Perce County Jail in Lewiston. The sheriff's office says detention officers found 52-year-old Jeffrey Admyers of Lewiston unconscious at around ......[more]
  Associated Press, Tuesday, July 9, 2013
  
  
• Tragic video shows mentally disturbed prisoner dying in jail after spending 51 HOURS lying naked and immobile on cell floor without water as...
  
  * Elliott Earl Williams, 37, died October 27, 2011, while in Tulsa County Jail * Arrested five days prior after causing disturbance in hotel lobby, where he was 'eating dirt'...[more]
  Mail Online, Tuesday, July 9, 2013