PRISON DEATH BY SUICIDE?
Not So Fast…..

If you have been told by prison or jail spokesmen that an inmate (loved one) has died of "apparent suicide" …. beware. It may not necessarily be so.

In reporting prison deaths to local newspapers, prison and jail officials follow the same format for reporting deaths. Although the order may vary the information within the format does not. In other words, officials may state what the inmate's crime and sentence was to infer to the reader that the inmate was 'bad', 'no good' or 'deserved' death.

The format followed by prison / jail personnel when reporting deaths to newspapers is as follows:

1. Inmate is identified by name and age;
2. May state where inmate was housed;
3. How found-hanging by bedsheet, towel, etc.
4. Ambulance called but CPR performed by staff in attempts to revive;
5. Exact cause pending autopsy;
6. Crime committed and sentence received.

For every prison death, prison and jail officials tweak surrounding circumstances of a death to infer natural causes or suicide unless there is no doubt death is a result of homicide. Whether manner of death is stated as "natural, accidental, homicide or suicide," family members should be aware of key information withheld within each.

The following are examples of actual news headlines reported to newspapers around the country from jail or prison personnel where 'suicide' is stated as the manner (not cause) of death.

If you can identify with any of the news headlines listed below, or have first-hand knowledge of the issue of suicide within the prison or jail system, we strongly suggest you contact the Institute. If you have secured the services of attorneys, we urge you to urge them to contact the Institute as well.

• Jailer error suspected as factor in inmate's suicide.
  Mentally ill man was put in wrong cell, sheriff says.
   
• Pima jail inmate hangs himself in 2nd recent suicide.
  An inmate at the Pima County jail apparently hanged himself in his cell Wednesday morning in the second suicide in the facility in two weeks, an official said.
   
• Attorney says deputies not to blame for inmate's suicide
   
• Inmate found hanged at Central Prison
   
• Inmate hangs self in county jail
   
• Teen facing drug charges attempts suicide in jail
   
• Inmate found hanged in cell
   
• Jail inmate hanged self during shift change
   
• Family, cellmate say inmate pleaded for help before hanging
   
• Jail inmate alone at time of hanging
   
• Inmate found dead in prison
   
• Suicide Exposes Squalor in Texas Prison
   
• Inmate found hanged in sheriff's office holding cell
   
• Inmate's death was suicide by hanging, officials say>
   
• Isolated inmate reportedly committed suicide
   
• Jail inmate hangs himself in 2nd recent suicide
   
• Jail Makes False Statements on Suicide
   
• Murder Suspect Commits Suicide In County Jail
   
• Jail inmate, 44, dead after apparent suicide
   
• State investigates two inmate suicides
   
• Officials: Jail inmate hanged self during shift change
   
• Family, cellmate say inmate pleaded for help before hanging
   
• An inmate died a day after a corrections officer found him hanging in a cell at the County jail, the sheriff's office said.
   
• Inmate found dead in prison-Inmate's father said prison officials told him the death was a suicide.
   
• Jail inmate hangs himself -- found dead on the floor after stringing the laces from a security-light fixture attached to the wall.
   
• County Inmate Found Dead In Cell--- found hanging with a bed sheet around his neck tied to a bar in his cell Thursday afternoon.
   
• Inmate dies of injuries from suicide attempt-- Inmate tied gauze around his neck, attached it to a coat hook and sat in a wheelchair. The coat hook is designed to break away but had been jammed.
   
• Inmate in County jail kills himself-Inmate hanged himself on Monday with a bedsheet, Sheriff states. Sheriff states "We have suicides all the time. Inmate wasn't on suicide watch; he hadn't displayed any signs that he might kill himself.

If you can identify with any of the news headlines listed above, or have first-hand knowledge of the issue of suicide within the prison or jail system, we strongly suggest you contact the Institute. If you have secured the services of attorneys, we urge you to urge them to contact the Institute as well.

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Copyright © 2008 Karen L. Russo - The Wrongful Death Institute & Forensic Science Associates. All Rights Reserved. These articles or pages may not be copied, transmitted, forwarded, reposted, or republished, in whole or in part, electronically or in any other format, without express written permission. This is not a solicitation for legal business. The Institute is not engaged in the practice of law. Mere contact through this website does not constitute a contract for representation. Wrongful Death Institute pages are designed and maintained by Four Boys Inc.