Report blames state government for suicide of mentally ill inmate at Bridgewater State Hospital
By Shira Schoenberg
MassLive
June 27, 2016
On April 7, 2016, Leo Marino tried to commit suicide by choking himself with toilet paper.
The staff at Bridgewater State Hospital, where Marino was confined, ordered that his access to toilet paper be curbed and he be placed under 24/7 suicide watch. A specially trained observer was sent to watch his cell and a camera recorded his every move.
The next day, Marino obtained more toilet paper from the staff and tried again to choke himself to death. This time, he succeeded.
Leslie Walker, executive director of Boston-based Prisoners’ Legal Services, said Bridgewater is “a hospital in name only.”