Death in Custody: Paul Anthony Casteldeoro.

According to the Pima County Sheriff's department, 31 year old Paul Anthony Casteldeoro was found hanging in his holding cell this week in the county jail. They said he had been held there on numerous charges since November 5, but nothing on him has been updated on the court website in years.


Condolences to Paul's friends and family, if you're out there. Please contact me if you want to share any of his story, so I can publish more than just his criminal record.

Heads up to everyone else - one suicide may trigger another. Be kind in case you end up addressing survivors of something so profoundly tragic you can't possibly imagine.

Just be kind.

thanks,

peg

ACLU and St. Tammany's "Squirrel Cages": Update

Score one for the Louisiana ACLU!

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ACLU Blog of Rights
Aug 24th, 2010

No More "Squirrel Cages" in Louisiana's St. Tammany Parish

Last month, we told you about the "squirrel cages" in Louisiana: 3-by 3-foot metal cages that St. Tammany Parish officials use to detain mentally ill, suicidal prisoners. The ACLU of Louisiana sent a letter (PDF) to parish Sheriff Jack Strain informing him that locking prisoners in these cages was inhumane and unconstitutional.

After some he-said, we-said, today we're happy to report that the St. Tammany Parish sheriff's office has issued a new set of policies for the treatment of suicidal prisoners. Now, instead of locking them in cages, they will be housed in a holding cell monitored by guards. Instead of urinating in milk cartons, which the previous practice allowed, prisoners will have access to bathrooms and potable water. Instead of sleeping on the floor of the cage, mentally ill prisoners will now have beds. And instead of being forced to wear Daisy Duke-style shorts with the words "HOT STUFF" scrawled across the backside, prisoners on suicide watch will be given jumpsuits and clothed as modestly as possible.

And, a bonus: a new position has been created as a "jail inspector," who will oversee conditions in the jail. (Hopefully this jail inspector will do something about the lack of sanitary napkins for female prisoners — a few have reported being denied pads during their periods. We don't have to tell you what the alternative is — and it's not tampons.)

Suing over prisoner suicide in Buffalo: DOJ to settle for less.

The final thought from the DOJ in this article - that all they want out of this county in New York is compliance with the minimum constitutional standards for conditions of confinement in their jail - troubles me. No wonder Arpaio is actually pondering a presidential bid for 2012. There are no real federal consequences to individuals or communities for neglecting people to death - or even giving them the tools they need to kill themselves - if you're systematically violating their civil rights in the process - at least, not if they're prisoners. If this was a nursing home, on the other hand, the public would be outraged and people would at least be criminally charged by the state.

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Small Jails Have Big Suicide Problem

County jails serve as de facto psychiatric wards.

Mother Jones Magazine

By Mosi Secret |

Mon Mar. 29, 2010 10:40 AM PDT

(This story [1] first appeared on the ProPublica website [2].)

At the 680-bed Erie County Holding Facility, a small jail on the shores of Lake Erie in Buffalo, N.Y., six inmates have committed suicide in the past five years, as many as at Rikers Island, the sprawling New York City jail that typically houses about 14,000 inmates.

In 2007, an Erie inmate killed himself by diving off a 15-foot railing in full view of sheriff's deputies. That same year, an inmate took his life after officials removed him from 24-hour suicide watch and put him with the other inmates. In 2008, two detainees used bed sheets to hang themselves from air vents, raising to 15 the number of inmates who had committed suicide this way, or tried to, since 2002.

County jails, most of them originally designed to hold low-level offenders, now serve, to some degree, as de facto psychiatric wards. Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca famously referred to the jails he oversees as "the largest mental health institution in the country."

While large jail systems have made substantial inroads in safeguarding mentally ill inmates, sharply reducing suicide rates since the early 1980s, some smaller jails—hobbled by poor layouts, thin staffing and inadequate training—are struggling to meet the most basic requirements set by federal law.

Their shortcomings can take a deadly toll. Suicides account for more than two of five deaths at smaller jails, versus fewer than one of five in the country's 50 largest jails, Bureau of Justice Statistics show. Despite improvements in prevention techniques, inmates at smaller jails remain twice as likely as those at larger jails to die by their own hand. Detainees at the Erie facility kill themselves at a rate five times the national average.

"It is difficult for these small jails when they are competing with resources that go to free society," said Christine Tartaro, an associate professor of criminal justice at Richard Stockton College in New Jersey and co-author of the 2009 book Suicide and Self-Harm in Prisons and Jails.

The Justice Department’s civil rights division issued findings on six jails nationwide last year for providing substandard mental health care. Four were smaller jails, housing 1,500 inmates or fewer, the Erie County Holding Facility among them.

The Justice Department began its investigation into problems at the Erie County jail in 2007, but local officials denied its experts unfettered access to the facility and failed to make improvements voluntarily, court records show. Stymied, the department sued the county last September, alleging it had an "inability to supervise inmates, identify inmates at risk for suicide, correct deficiencies in cells that facilitate suicide attempts, and prevent likely suicide attempts."

Erie County officials did not return phone calls from ProPublica about the case. County Attorney Cheryl Green has asserted in court documents that the jail meets constitutional requirements and that inmates cannot expect "the amenities, conveniences and services of a good hotel."

A federal judge recently ordered the county to allow Justice Department experts into the jail, partly because three inmates have committed suicide there since oral arguments began in the case in December. Officials from the agency toured the facility last week.

Unlike prisons, which house offenders who have been sentenced, jails hold mostly pretrial detainees—people who have not yet been convicted.

New inmates may be detoxing from alcohol or street drugs. They often arrive without medical records and whatever prescription medications they are taking. Some may be upset following confrontations with police. Things can turn bad in a hurry: A census of jail suicides between 2000 and 2002 found almost a quarter of the deaths happened within 48 hours of admission, and nearly half occurred in the first week of custody.

A proper intake screening is critical, experts say. "You can pick up the signs and when there is a problem, you do a mental health study and then you take the precautions that are necessary," said Fred Cohen, an Arizona attorney who is an expert in correctional law and a federal court monitor for Ohio’s juvenile detention centers. "Most of the signs and symptoms of the likelihood of suicide are either ignored or the guys don’t know."

In Erie County, a 2008 report by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care found that the intake screenings were inadequate and that there was no documentation proving that the correctional officers performing them had been trained. They collected medical information, but often failed to record it properly: "The receiving screening information is not filed in the health record in almost 40 percent of the patient records reviewed," the commission reported.

Some smaller jails, especially older ones, lack the design features and equipment to monitor inmates identified as having suicidal tendencies. At more modern jails, that means glass-walled cells allowing for continuous observation, and Velcro smocks and tear-proof blankets that can’t be torn up and turned into nooses.

Cells at the Erie County facility, by contrast, provided inmates with "multiple ways to facilitate committing suicide," according to the national commission’s assessment. The jail’s old-fashioned steel beds, window bars, grab bars and removable wall plates could be used by inmates to harm themselves.

Experts say smaller jails often have too little staff to provide inmates with adequate care—a situation likely to worsen as state and local governments deal with shrinking budgets.

In 2003, Erie County eliminated several health care positions at the jail, including the head nurse and almost half of the mental health staff. The next year, the holding center began admitting inmates who had been held in the Buffalo Police Department’s lockup, further straining the staff.

"Medical staff report that they are not always able to take vital signs, feel rushed and experience burnout," the national commission’s report found. "The facility does not have a chronic care program; treatment plans are not developed even for inmates with serious mental illness; and progress notes are often not entered in the medical record."

In Erie County and elsewhere, those monitoring jail inmates are typically sheriff’s deputies with limited training in recognizing the signs of mental illness – most of their training prepares them to be street cops.

"The sheriff’s office has two very different sets of responsibilities," says David Fathi, director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project, who has litigated several constitutional claims against jails and prisons. "One is to be law enforcement patrol officers to the free world and one is to be correctional officers. … Often there is a preference among the deputies for patrol duty. To the extent that correctional work is thought of as a less desirable job function, it often gets short shrift in terms of training and resources. … My anecdotal experience it that seems to be more often a problem in smaller jails."

The Erie County sheriff’s deputies who work in the jail get just eight hours of training in suicide prevention screening, court documents show.

With six suicides since 2005 and many more attempts, the Erie County jail may yet emerge as a battleground for determining the minimum quality of care to which jail inmates are entitled.

It is facing heightened scrutiny from state regulators as well as the Justice Department. Earlier this month, the chairman of the New York State Commission of Correction, Thomas Beilein, ordered a comprehensive review of the facility’s suicide screening program and sent two investigators to inspect the jail. Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard cooperated with that inspection.

Howard and other Erie officials continue to battle the Justice Department, however, maintaining that federal overseers have overreached in their demands [3]. With the long-sought tour complete, DOJ lawyers say they will soon return to court to force the county’s hand.

"If our lawsuit is successful, the Department would ask the Court to remedy unconstitutional conditions at the Holding Center to ensure that the jail is safe and humane," a DOJ spokesperson said in an e-mail. "We are not seeking fines or monetary penalties, or remedies beyond the basic standards of care guaranteed by the Constitution."

Suicide in American Jails.

Executive Summary of the National Study of Jail Suicides: Twenty Years Later

US Department of Justice/
National Institute of Corrections (April 2010)

Suicide continues to be a leading cause of death in jails across the country; the rate of suicide in county jails is estimated to be several times greater than that in the general population. In September 2006, the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives (NCIA) entered into a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) to conduct a national study on jail suicide that would determine the extent and distribution of inmate suicides in local jails (i.e., city, county, and police department facilities) and also gather descriptive data on the demographic characteristics of each victim, characteristics of the incident, and characteristics of the jail facility that sustained the suicide.


The study, a followup to a similar national survey that NCIA conducted in 1986, resulted in a report of the findings to be used as a resource tool for both jail personnel in expanding their knowledge base and correctional (as well as mental health and medical) administrators in creating and/or revising policies and training curricula on suicide prevention. The study identified 696 jail suicides in 2005 and 2006, with 612 deaths occurring in detention facilities and 84 in holding facilities. Demographic data were subsequently analyzed on 464 of these suicides.


Following are some findings regarding characteristics of the suicide victims:

• Sixty-seven percent were white.

• Ninety-three percent were male.

• The average age was 35.

• Forty-two percent were single.

• Forty-three percent were held on a personal and/or violent charge.

• Forty-seven percent had a history of substance abuse.

• Twenty-eight percent had a history of medical problems.

• Thirty-eight percent had a history of mental illness.

• Twenty percent had a history of taking psychotropic medication.

• Thirty-four percent had a history of suicidal behavior.


Following are some findings regarding characteristics of the suicides:

• Deaths were evenly distributed throughout the year; certain seasons and/or holidays did not account for more suicides.

• Thirty-two percent occurred between 3:01 p.m. and 9 p.m.

• Twenty-three percent occurred within the first 24 hours, 27 percent between 2 and 14 days, and 20 percent between 1 and 4 months.

• Twenty percent of the victims were intoxicated at the time of death.

• Ninety-three percent of the victims used hanging as the method.

• Sixty-six percent of the victims used bedding as the instrument.

• Thirty percent of the victims used a bed or bunk as the anchoring device.

• Thirty-one percent of the victims were found dead more than 1 hour after the last observation.

• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was administered in 63 percent of incidents.

• Thirty-eight percent of the victims were held in isolation.

• Eight percent of the victims were on suicide watch at the time of death.

• No-harm contracts were used in 13 percent of cases.

• Thirty-seven percent of the victims were assessed by qualified mental health professionals; 47 of the victims who committed suicide and were assessed saw a clinician within 3 days of death.

• Thirty-five percent occurred close to the date of a court hearing, with 80 percent occurring in less than 2 days.

• Twenty-two percent occurred close to the date of a telephone call or visit, with 67 percent occurring in less than 1 day.


Following are some findings regarding characteristics of the jail facilities:

• Eighty-four percent were administered by county, 13 percent by municipal, 2 percent by private, and less than 2 percent by state or regional agencies.

• Seventy-seven percent provided intake screening to identify suicide risk, but only 27 percent verified the victim’s suicide risk during prior confinement and only 31 percent verified whether the arresting or transporting officer believed the victim was a suicide risk.

• Sixty-two percent provided suicide prevention training, but 63 percent either did not provide training or did not provide it on an annual basis.

• Sixty-nine percent of training provided was for 2 hours or less, and only 6 percent was for a duration of 8 hours.

• Eighty percent provided CPR certification.

• Ninety-three percent provided a protocol for suicide watch, but less than 2 percent had the option for constant observation; most (87 percent) used 15-minute observation periods.

• Fifty-one percent allowed only mental health personnel to downgrade and discharge inmates from suicide watch.

• Thirty-two percent maintained safe housing for suicidal inmates.

• Thirty-five percent maintained a mortality review process.

• Eighty-five percent maintained a written suicide prevention policy, but suicide prevention programming was not comprehensive.


Twenty years after the survey that was conducted in 1986, this national study of jail suicides found substantial changes in the demographic characteristics of inmates who committed suicide. Some of these changes were stark. For example, suicide victims once characterized as being confined on “minor other” offenses were found in the 2005–06 data to be held on “personal and/or violent” charges. Intoxication was previously viewed as a leading precursor to inmate suicide, yet recent data indicate that it is now found in only a minority of cases.


Whereas more than half of all jail suicide victims were dead within the first 24 hours of confinement according to 1986 data, current data suggest that less than a quarter of all victims commit suicide during this time period, with an equal number of deaths occurring between 2 and 14 days of confinement. In addition, inmates who committed suicide appeared to be far less likely to be housed in isolation than previously reported and, for unknown reasons, were less likely to be found within 15 minutes of the last observation by staff. Finally, more jail facilities that experienced inmate suicides had both written suicide prevention policies and an intake screening process to identify suicide risk than in years past, although the comprehensiveness of programming remains questionable.


In 2006, the suicide rate in detention facilities was 36 deaths per 100,000 inmates, which is approximately 3 times greater than that in the general population (Mumola and Noonan 2008). This rate, however, represents a dramatic decrease in the rate of suicide in detention facilities during the past 20 years. The nearly threefold decrease from a previously reported 107 suicides per 100,000 inmates in 1986 is extraordinary. Absent in-depth scientific inquiry, there may be several explanations for the reduced suicide rate. During the past several years, national studies of jail suicide have given a face to this longstanding and often ignored public health issue in the nation’s jails. Study findings have been widely distributed throughout the country and were eventually incorporated into suicide prevention training curricula.


The increased awareness of inmate suicide is also reflected in national correctional standards that now require comprehensive suicide prevention programming, better training of jail staff, and more indepth inquiry of suicide risk factors during the intake process. Finally, litigation involving jail suicide has persuaded (or forced) jurisdictions and facility administrators to take corrective actions in reducing the opportunity for future deaths. Therefore, based on this dramatic decrease in the rate of suicides, the antiquated mindset that “inmate suicides cannot be prevented” should forever be put to rest. This report offers recommendations in the areas of comprehensive suicide prevention programming, staff training, and future research efforts.


In conclusion, findings from this study create a formidable challenge for both correctional and healthcare officials as well as their respective staff. Although our knowledge base continues to increase, which has seemingly corresponded to a dramatic reduction in the rate of inmate suicide in detention facilities, much work lies ahead. The data indicate that inmate suicide is no longer centralized to the first 24 hours of confinement and can occur at any time during an inmate’s confinement.


As such, because roughly the same number of deaths occurred within the first several hours of custody as occurred during more than a few months of confinement, intake screening for the identification of suicide risk upon entry into a facility should be viewed as time limited. Because inmates can be at risk for suicide at any point during confinement, the biggest challenge for those who work in the corrections system is to view the issue as requiring a continuum of comprehensive suicide prevention services aimed at the collaborative identification, continued assessment, and safe management of inmates at risk for self-harm.

Inmate’s family wins against First Correctional Medical: Delaware.

Catching up with the guys at Private Corrections Working Group (PCWG - formerly PCI), the experts on the private prison industry. I can't keep up with their emails, so hee's a bunch more from the past few days. Sorry to dump so much at once. Will try to keep them relatively in order as they arrived...

I guess the message to PO's on this one is that it had better be a really good reason before you violate someone - don't do it just to put a little fear into them. That kind of harassment and stress kills some of us.

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Inmate’s family wins award against First Correctional Medical: Delaware.

Mar 10, 2010 6:58 pm US/Eastern

Family Of Suicidal Del. Inmate Awarded $850

KRANDALL CHASE, Associated Press Writer

DOVER, Del. (AP) ― A federal judge in Wilmington has awarded $850,000 to the family of a Delaware prison inmate who hanged himself in 2004.

Judge Joseph Farnan ruled Tuesday that the widow of Christopher Barkes was entitled to $150,000 for mental anguish stemming from her husband's death. Barkes' two daughters, meanwhile, were awarded $350,000 each.

The family sued First Correctional Medical Inc., the former medical care contractor for the state Department of Corrections. Farnan entered a default judgment against the company in 2008 after a representative failed to appear at a court hearing.

Barkes, who had a history of substance abuse and suicide attempts, hanged himself with a sheet one day after being arrested for violating probation.

http://wjz.com/wireapnewsmd/Federal.judge.awards.2.1552228.html

The other way we tend to die in custody

Family of inmate sues Mesa after jail-cell suicide

by Nathan Gonzalez - Nov. 20, 2009 09:55 AM
The Arizona Republic

 

The family of a Mesa man who hanged himself inside the city jail is suing for $400,000 in damages, claiming detention officers should have adequately watched him.

The U.S. District Court lawsuit brought by Miletta Lewis, sister of Marvin Lewis, names the city and its detention officers.

It claims Lewis' constitutional rights were violated because officers did not place him in a safe environment.

The suit also accuses the city and its detention officers of being negligent because they failed to closely monitor Lewis, who was found hanged in his cell April 9, 2008.

While he was being booked into the jail early that morning, Lewis told a jail guard he was picked up on a minor probation violation from Kentucky and said that he had once been jailed for murder, police reports show.

One detention officer said in her report that Lewis was one of the most-calm prisoners throughout the jail that night and that he "said he had a lot of respect for female officers."

Lewis described himself as a local landscaper. He told jailer he was arrested as ran outside because he thought his car was being stolen. In fact, police were closing in on him to arrest him on the outstanding warrant.

"I did not think that he seemed upset about his charges or upset about going back to Kentucky," the detention officer stated in her report.

Lewis was placed into a cell with another prisoner and released at 2:05 a.m. to use the telephone, police reports state. About 10 minutes later, he was returned to his cell, and his cellmate was allowed to use the phone.

Meanwhile, the officer who booked Lewis had placed a third inmate into the cell, and that inmate found Lewis.

"I did not have a chance to start back down the hall when (the other inmate) began banging on the door and yelling" that Lewis hung himself, the jailer wrote.

As other detention officers arrived, they found Lewis with a pair of socks tied around his neck and hanging from one of four hooks on the cell wall, according to police reports.

EMS personnel responded, but could not revive Lewis.

The lawsuit brought by Lewis' sister claims the city and jail guards "failed to ensure that Mr. Lewis had a holding cell free from suicide opportunities such as hooks anchored in the concrete wall close to the ceiling. (The city and detention officers) failed to take any precautions whatsoever."

City officials deny the lawsuit's claims.