By Jennifer Reeger
Tribune-Review
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Westmoreland County Prison officials will request an autopsy for any inmate who dies in custody, regardless of whether natural causes are suspected.
Prison Warden John Walton said officials will ask the Westmoreland County Coroner’s Office to conduct an autopsy when an inmate dies either in the prison or in a health care facility while in custody.
The decision was precipitated by the Dec. 28 death of inmate Joseph Gary Kalna, 56, in Excela Health Westmoreland Hospital. Prison officials requested an autopsy for Kalna, who was awaiting trial on rape and other charges, because he did not have a history of health problems, Walton said.
The autopsy revealed Kalna died of natural causes related to cirrhosis of the liver, Coroner Ken Bacha said.
Typically, inmate deaths are reportable to the coroner’s office, but autopsies are performed only when the death is not natural, typically a suicide.
But Walton believes, and the county prison board at its meeting Monday concurred, that the county would be best served if autopsies were conducted after every inmate’s death to keep any questions from being raised by family members.
“This way, you have everything in order,” Walton said after the meeting. “I think it just puts the county in a better light.”
Commissioner and prison board member Ted Kopas agreed.
“When something like this happens there are questions, some substantiated, some not, but this would alleviate any questions the families would have,” Kopas said after the meeting. “This would give families peace of mind as well as the public.”
While prison officials and the board cannot force the coroner to conduct an autopsy, Bacha said he would be happy to comply with the request.
“This is just going to expand our scope of our autopsies to look at natural deaths as well,” Bacha said.
In addition, discipline against a prison employee whose mistake led to an inmate being released should be forthcoming, Walton said.
Accused rapist Derrick Cobbs was released from prison after his case ended in a mistrial Nov. 3. He was to be held in lieu of $225,000 bail.
Cobbs was apprehended almost three weeks later in Florida.
Walton said disciplinary action against the prison clerk had been delayed because other employees have been on vacation or on long-term leave. Walton anticipates that discipline will be meted out within the next month.
The prison has instituted another safeguard to keep such incidents from happening.
Not only are two employees in the records department reviewing court orders, as was previous practice, but a lieutenant verifies them, Walton said.
“There’s no way to ever eliminate human error, but you have to minimize it as much as possible, and this extra step will help,” Kopas said.
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