By Peter Cameron
The Times-Tribune
For the third time this year, an inmate death at the Lackawanna County Prison has been ruled a suicide, Warden Robert McMillan said Friday.
On Tuesday morning, 36-year-old James Entrot of Scranton was found hanging in his cell from a noose he made from his bedding.
He was rushed to Geisinger Community Medical Center and pronounced dead by self-inflicted asphyxiation at 11:56 a.m. Tuesday, Lackawanna County Coroner Tim Rowland said.
The district attorney’s office was immediately notified and conducted an investigation the day of the suicide, the warden said.
Mr. Entrot was in jail for a misdemeanor charge of contempt of court.
Last month, the prison board met to discuss its concern over inmate suicides.
The problem in the jail is a not lack of effort from correctional officers, but that staff has not proportionately kept pace with the growth of the inmate population over the years, said Training Sgt. Bill Shanley.
“We don’t police (the jail) the way it should be policed, and it’s because you don’t have enough (employees) from the top to the bottom,” Sgt. Shanley told the prison board last month. “You don’t have enough administrators. You don’t have enough attendants. ... You don’t have enough COs. You don’t have enough clerical (staff), and you definitely don’t have enough nurses.”
Corrections is one of the top three most expensive costs for the county.
Two other deaths this year at the jail have been ruled suicides. On June 29, Isaac Strope, 61, died of self-inflicted asphyxiation and on Jan. 22, Christopher Richards, 34, of Clarks Summit, died of an overdose of Zoloft he likely took before entering the prison, according to the coroner’s office.
“We’re always concerned whenever an inmate dies,” the warden said. “We always review our policies, our procedures and see if there’s anything more that can’t be done. ... We continually strive to improve.”
He declined to discuss specific security procedures, citing safety concerns.
The Lackawanna County Prison had no suicides in 2013, and one in 2012, the warden said.
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