Prison News
Jails & Suicides
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, between 2001-2011, 3217 inmates committed suicide in local jails. The difference between an inmate in jail and an inmate in prison–the inmate in jail is usually waiting for his or her day in court. The inmates in prison were convicted and are serving their sentences.
Many state prisons do not have good or even adequate mental health care for inmates, but compared to local jails, but are better than most jails. According to the National Institute of Corrections in 2010, most jails do not provide suicide prevention training or do not provide it annually. Smaller jails, holding less than 50 inmates, have a higher suicide rate than large jails.
The news media has focused on Texas jails since the tragic death of Sandra Bland, a black woman. The trooper had stopped Ms. Brown for failing allegedly to signal while changing lanes. An argument escalated with the trooper demanding that she put out her cigarette. She was arrested and thrown into jail. The authorities have claimed that Ms. Bland hanged herself with a trash bag in her cell. Bland’s family and friends have disputed whether Ms. Bland’s death was a suicide or a homicide. This region is known for racial tensions against black Americans.
Even without this important issue about the cause of Bland’s death,, the Waller County Jail violated several policies enacted to prevent suicide. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards cited the jail for not observing inmates in person at the minimum of once an hour. The sheriff’s office has admitted that the guards checked on Ms. Bland only once by intercom. The sheriff’s office could not show documents proving that their jailers had undergone training on handling inmates with mental illnesses or inmates who were prone to suicide. According to the booking documents, Ms. Bland told the authorities that she had tried to commit suicide after she had lost a baby during pregnancy.
The authorities have alleged that Ms. Bland hanged herself with a trash bag in her cell. There is the serious question as to why a trash bag was in Ms. Bland’s cell. In Texas county jail cells, trash can liners are available to inmate’s in their cells–there are no liners or trash cans in Texas state prison cells. State inmates place their trash in trash cans located in common areas.
If Ms. Bland’s death was a suicide, it was not an isolated incident. In 2014, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards reported 71 inmate’s deaths and concluded that 20 of the deaths were suicides. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the national suicide rate for county jails was almost four times the national rate.
For anyone locked up in a jail cell for the first time in their life, the experience can be terrifying and even overwhelming for some. It does not matter if their charge was a minor violation. The inmate has lost control over his or her life and are cut off from family and friends. They are facing a terrifying unknown. As an alleged civilized society, we need to educate and train our jailers how to interact with inmates with mental illnesses and how to treat inmates with suicidal tendencies.
By: Bradley Schwartz
Founder of prisonpath.com
Very well put. As a suicide instructor at my facility, this is a subject I’m learning more about as I go. However I think inmates are more prone, to commit suicide in a county facility then a state prison.
By-Miles
Bonnie–
Thank you for posting this. Now, can we do something about the prisoners having their medications changed when they go to jail without consulting their psychologist, psychiatrist, or a pharmacist? Arbitrarily changing a persons’ medication that they have been on for some time without stepping it down can throw them into psychosis, and simply changing it completely can do real damage. Some prisoners are punished when their brains short circuit.
Greg– Do what the officer instructs you to do and you never would have got locked up, PERIOD! Look at the root cause of all these problems, it’s not the officers, it’s not the facilities, it’s individuals not obeying the sworn officers instructions and not taking responsibilities for their actions and then the family wants to blame everyone else or not knowing. Just like children today, the parents blaming the teachers to raise and rear their children instead of taking the blame and responsibility for raising their own child. STOP blaming everyone else in society and take blame for being… Read more »
Jane–
Greg, the officer went too far. An officer must be able to deal correctly with people on edge. I am usually with the officers, but not in this case. We must acknowledge that not all officers are well meaning, nor well trained.
Dawn– I work with mentally ill inmates and a lot of them. We are trained to work with this type of inmate and take refresher training every year. Yes I and a correction officer and I think our state is very in tune to this inmate. They get psychiatric care and a psych nurse is on sight 24 /7 psych doctor 5 days a week. I have seen everything they can do to the body from putting foreign objects in their penis to hanging in a cell. I read the comments on these discussions and sometimes I think I am… Read more »
Dawn..You are virtually illiterate..How can you help anyone? but thanks anyway
Bonnie– Dawn, until I retired in 2011 for health reasons, I participated in many community reentry groups which included DOC officials, state agencies, religious organizations, local National Alliance on Mental Illness staff, prisoner advocacy group representatives, nonprofit organizations, religious and recovery groups and employers. I mentored peer-led reentry and recovery groups. I have been a part of the National Institute of Justice seminars and received a scholarship to their 2010 conference. I have been a part of DOC conferences and seminars, and presented papers at both the Iowa Sociological Association and the Midwest Sociological Society’s Conferences. I have asked questions… Read more »
Dawn– Bonnie the funny thing is you sit there and right about you and how bad we are to inmates but you didn’t have one word to say anything about what I posted. You just talking about you. Because no matter what your pedigree is not important. You made comments that “Now, can we do something about the prisoners having their medications changed when they go to jail without consulting their psychologist, psychiatrist, or a pharmacist? Arbitrarily changing a persons’ medication that they have been on for some time without stepping it down can throw them into psychosis, and simply… Read more »
Jane–
“Some prisoners are punished when their brains short circuit” – yes, it happens — one CO in Texas said”there is a fine line between mental illness and bad behavior” – well, the inmate got out of chow line when he was having a brain seizure and was disoriented …
Bonnie–
Okay Dawn. I am wrong.
Amen