Screening process will be scrutinized
By SCOTT DAUGHERTY, Staff Writer
The Capital
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Following two inmate suicides in the Jennifer Road detention center in just seven months, the superintendent of county jails plans to review how her staff screens inmates for suicidal tendencies.
Both Tyrell Dominique Taylor, 31, of Glen Burnie, and Monteray Arkell Hastey, 37, of Annapolis, were deemed fit for general population before they hanged themselves inside intake cells.
| A medical professional questions the inmates about their physical and mental health within four hours of being booked. (AP Photo) |
“We want to make sure we are doing everything we can do,” Superintendent Robin Harting said, explaining she will seek help from the National Institute of Corrections or the National Center for Institutions and Alternatives, Jail Suicide Prevention Division.
Taylor, who was awaiting trial on two robbery charges, committed suicide on Saturday and Hastey committed suicide on Jan. 4. Prior to this year, the last inmate suicide was in December 2003.
Councilmen Josh Cohen, D-Annapolis, Ron Dillon, R-Pasadena, and Jamie Benoit, D-Piney Orchard, said yesterday they are concerned by the recent suicides.
“The county needs to make sure (inmates) are held in a safe manner,” said Mr. Cohen, a former agent with the State’s Division of Parole and Probation. “A suicide is a preventable death. We need to do better.”
But all three councilmen said Ms. Harting and her staff have it under control.
“It seems to me like they realize there are some steps they may need to take,” Mr. Dillon said.
“She’ll nail it down,” Mr. Benoit said.
Ms. Harting said the county currently screens inmates like most other jurisdictions in Maryland. She said a medical professional on staff at the jail - usually a nurse - questions the inmates about their physical and mental health within four hours of being booked into the detention facility.
The nurse asks an inmate 29 questions from a special questionnaire during the mental health screening to determine whether he should be placed on suicide watch or another form of segregation. The questions revolve primarily around the inmate’s medical history, including whether they are on psychiatric medications, have attempted suicide before or spent time in a mental hospital. The nurse also asks questions about the inmate’s feelings and looks to see if he is showing any signs of depression or anxiety, Ms. Harting said.
Ms. Harting said the Maryland Commission on Correctional Standards requires inmates be screened for mental health problems within 24 hours. She said the county currently has six inmates on suicide watch, all in cells at the Jennifer Road Detention Center.
The numbers
Anne Arundel County is not alone when it comes to inmate suicides.
According a report by the U.S. Department of Justice, 47 of every 100,000 inmates in local jails across the country in 2002 committed suicide. That is down from 129 of every 100,000 inmates in 1983.
And citing state statistics, Ms. Harting said 16 inmates killed themselves between July 2004 and May 2008 in local jails in Maryland. Six committed suicide in just seven months last year in Baltimore City jails, she said.
“It is a reality with which we all contend,” Ms. Harting said.
The Department of Justice report found 14 of every 100,000 inmates in state prisons across the country in 2002 committed suicide.
Rick Binetti, a state prison spokesman, said 35 inmates have killed themselves in Maryland prisons since Jan. 1, 2004, including 16 in 2007. However, he said, none have committed suicide since Dec. 16, 2007.
Mr. Binetti credited a new suicide watch program that relies on inmate aides who keep tabs on their mentally unstable brethren. That program, however, relies on inmates being properly screened and placed on suicide watch.
The suicides
Correctional officers found Taylor about 9:10 a.m. Saturday inside a locked intake cell hanging from a top bunk with a bedsheet around his neck. Jail staff called 911, began CPR and used an automatic defibrillator, but Taylor still died from his injuries.
Likewise, Hastey was found about 11:25 a.m. Jan. 4 hanging from an air duct with a bedsheet around his neck. Correctional officers called 911 and began CPR, but Hastey also died from his injuries.
Autopsies determined both committed suicide.
Taylor was arrested Thursday on two robbery charges. He was being held on $1 million bond. If convicted, he faced a maximum of 15 years in prison on each count.
Hastey was awaiting trial on charges he violated his probation on three separate drug and assault cases dating back to 1999. If convicted, he faced more than 10 years in prison.
While interested in evaluating the jail’s screening procedures, Ms. Harting said there was no way her staff could have stopped Taylor from killing himself. She noted that Taylor’s cellmate was taken to see a nurse about 10 minutes earlier and Taylor did nothing to make correctional officers worry.
“I’m confident that no screening short of a crystal ball was going to prevent that from happening,” she said.
Other recent deaths
Two other inmates have died in the jail this year. They happened in a span of just three weeks in January and early February - and just two weeks after Hastey’s suicide.
Michael G. McCormick, 49, of Odenton, died Jan. 15 after spending the night in a cell. An autopsy found he died of blunt force trauma combined with alcohol ketosis. The medical examiner couldn’t say how he received his injuries, but a cellmate told police Mr. McCormick was drunk and fell out of his bunk.
Mr. McCormick was booked into the jail Jan. 14 after he showed up for traffic court with a 0.32 blood-alcohol content. Mr. McCormick’s family is considering a lawsuit.
James Leroy Downs, 45, of Pasadena, died Feb. 1 after six weeks in the detention center. Jail officials said he suffered a heart attack and an autopsy determined he had heart disease.
Mr. Downs was arrested Dec. 22 on misdemeanor drug charges.
Copyright 2008 The Annapolis Capital
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