Editor’s note: Suicide is always preventable. If you are having thoughts of suicide or feeling suicidal, please call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline immediately at 988. Counselors are also available to chat at www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org. Remember: You deserve to be supported, and it is never too late to seek help. Speak with someone today.
By Jon Zumkehr
I’ve worked for the Federal Bureau of Prisons for over 18 years, and in that time, I’ve lost eight colleagues to suicide. Eight. That’s not a typo — it’s a gut punch, a number that keeps me awake at night. And every time another name gets added to that list, I hear the same thing from agency leaders and politicians: “We care.” But talk is cheap. We’re sick and tired of hearing words that aren’t backed up by action. We shouldn’t have to learn about suicide from suicide itself.
The daily toll of life inside federal prisons
Working in federal corrections is nothing like what most people imagine. Long hours, forced overtime and — let’s be honest — poor leadership have reduced us to numbers. Our families rarely see the toll this job takes on us. They don’t know what we carry home: the memory of seeing inmates fighting and attacking each other, the aftermath of an inmate taking their own life, the verbal abuse, the physical assaults.
For female staff, it’s worse. Inmates expose themselves as if it’s sport, knowing there’s no federal law holding them accountable. At Thomson Federal Prison alone, there were over 1,600 reported incidents of this kind between 2019 and 2022. That’s just what was reported.
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People tell us, “It’s just part of the job.” But imagine being told that sexual harassment and assault are routine, and that there’s little to no support for your mental health. If you admit you’re struggling — if you say you’re thinking about suicide — you risk losing your job. So we keep it in, we drink too much and our relationships fall apart. Correctional officers are more likely to die by suicide than police officers, but we’re largely left out of mental health initiatives for first responders.
Most people have no idea how tough this job is. Every day, we see violence. I have been assaulted, I have been attacked, I have had human waste thrown on me, and not once did anyone check on my mental health. I always returned to work after to prove I was not weak, but no one ever checked on me. I have learned to block everything out. I hear from co-workers who feel like they have nowhere to turn.
If you work in a prison, you’re always watching your back, always on edge. The life expectancy for correctional officers is 16 years shorter than the general public. National data from the Vera Institute of Justice shows that we experience depression, PTSD, and suicide at rates far above average — higher than police, higher than military veterans.
| RELATED: Correctional union’s suicide prevention push aims to reshape prison culture
A system in crisis
The Government Accountability Office put the federal prison system on its “high-risk” list in 2023, citing chronic staffing shortages and dangerous working conditions. Overtime is constant, and the risk just gets higher. A recent study in Washington State found that prison employees have PTSD rates similar to combat veterans. According to Caterina Spinaris, founder of Desert Waters Correctional Outreach, correctional officers suffer from PTSD at more than double the rate of military veterans.
There’s a culture of silence around suicide and mental health in corrections. We’re told that “correctional officers can never be weak.” That stigma is killing us. We shouldn’t have to learn about suicide from suicide itself.
Fighting for change
In March 2023, after we lost an officer at Thomson Federal Prison to suicide, I decided I couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore. I went to Washington, D.C., and with the help of our local union, we worked with Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who introduced the Corrections Officer Blake Schwarz Suicide Prevention Act. This bill, cosponsored by Rep. Eric Sorensen, aims to finally get us the mental health support we need. Both representatives spoke on the House floor about the trauma we endure and the lack of resources available.
We’ve also partnered with The Gray Matters Collective to bring real change. We sent 24 staff members to ASSIST suicide prevention training. We installed large 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline signs at the sallyport so staff see them every day and put magnets with local mental health resources in every officer station and on every fridge. Last September, we held our first suicide prevention walk at Thomson Federal Prison and brought in local support organizations. Working with Gray Matters Collective, we’ve started a support group for first responders and correctional officers, staffed by a licensed therapist.
But we can’t do this alone. We need to build an army of mental health advocates at Thomson and across the country. We need Congress to step up. We need the Bureau of Prisons to step up. We need our leaders to do more than just say they care. We are sick and tired of people saying they care but never showing up.
Correctional officers are dying. Their families are grieving. And the rest of us are left to pick up the pieces. We are done with empty promises. We need action — and we need it now.
Resources and advocacy
Rep. Miller-Meeks speaks in support of the Corrections Officer Blake Schwarz Suicide Prevention Act:
Congressman Sorensen honors Blake Schwarz on the House floor:
- Sign up for updates from Rep. Miller-Meeks
- Connect with Rep. Eric Sorensen on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
About the author
Jon Zumkehr serves as the president of AFGE Local 4070, a union representing correctional officers and staff at Thomson federal prison. Zumkehr has been recognized for his advocacy on behalf of prison employees, particularly in improving working conditions, staffing levels, and safety measures. In 2022, he was named the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) 2021 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year for his efforts — including securing pay raises, retention bonuses, and direct hire authority to address staffing shortages at Thomson.
