Suicide in Jail: A Ten-Year Retrospective Study

Abstract

Suicide in jails, like all death in custody, may involve complicated investigation. Allegations of mistreatment and/or abuse may be raised and these possibilities need to be addressed. Apart from these investigative concerns, the occurrence of suicides in such a controlled environment raises additional questions about potential preventative measures. Between 2004 and 2014, there were ten deaths of incarcerated individuals in Cuyahoga County (metropolitan Cleveland) Ohio. Most (80%) were white and all were male. Similar to previous reviews, the majority of decedents hanged themselves (90%), with one case of asphyxiation by airway obstruction with a foreign body. Psychiatric disorders were noted in six of ten decedents while seven of ten had a history of substance abuse including alcoholism. Overall, nine of ten had at least one of these disorders. All suicide deaths occurred within one year of incarceration, which may reflect the absence of a long-term prison fatality in our county. It is noteworthy that 70% of deaths occurred within the first month of incarceration with four of ten events occurring in less than a day including two deaths in less than 30 minutes. Positive toxicology for abused substances was noted in 75% (three) of the four individuals who died in less than a day and only in one other suicide, which occurred on the second day of incarceration. Our data suggest that suicide in jail is predominantly a male phenomenon, with early incarceration being a particularly vulnerable period. The presence of another inmate in the same cell as the decedent was not seen to have an independent deterrent effect. Intoxication, particularly in individuals with a history of substance abuse and/or alcoholism, should raise concern for potential self-harm in recently jailed individuals. Possible interventions suggested by this study might include closer direct surveillance in the early incarceration period, earlier access to mental health services as well as design modifications in holding cells with possible dedicated short-term holding areas where self-harm risks are minimized and surveillance can be optimized.