WGBH March 4, 2019 By Chris Burrell and Hannah Schoenbaum The number of inmate suicides in Massachusetts’ county jails dropped to three last year — the lowest tally since 2011 and a sharp decrease from 10 suicides the year before in jails run by county sheriffs, according to data compiled by the New England Center […]
Our View: High suicide rates at Bristol jails should be investigated
South Coast Today June 30, 2018 No matter how you analyze it, we need to know why nearly 25 percent of the state’s jail suicides between 2006 and 2016 occured in Bristol County jails when only 13 percent of the inmates were housed there. It doesn’t matter whether the jails are run by a Republican […]
Massachusetts Sees Highest Number Of Inmate Suicides Since 2014
WGBH and New England Center for Investigative Reporting March 19, 2018 By Chris Burrell and Jenifer McKim Fourteen inmates died by suicide in Massachusetts prisons and jails in 2017, the highest such number of deaths since 2014, according to state and county data. Those who died include four who hanged themselves in state prisons and 10 […]
Bristol County Report On Inmate Suicides Leaves Out Key Details
WGBH and New England Center for Investigative Reporting March 18, 2018 By Chris Burrell and Jenifer McKim Nine months ago, Kellie Pearson was driving in Fall River when she got a frantic call from her daughter telling her to call the Bristol County jail immediately. Pearson dialed and got an officer at the jail. “I knew,” […]
Lawsuits add up over Bristol County jail inmate suicides
March 9, 2018 The Boston Globe By Jenifer McKim and Chris Burrell Barbara Kice wants justice for her son, who hanged himself in 2015 in the Bristol County House of Correction. The jail, all by itself, accounts for more than a quarter of county inmate suicides statewide, and Kice thinks she knows why so many die: […]
Prison is no place to cure the opioid epidemic
December 12, 2017 The Boston Globe Editorial In late September, David McKinley was found hanging from the top bunk bed in his room at a Plymouth treatment center for drug and alcohol dependency. As reported in the Globe, McKinley’s suicide raises important questions about the suitability and management of the unit he was housed in for […]
Inmate’s apparent suicide in Bristol County jail renews concerns about sheriff
June 15, 2017 Boston Globe By Chris Burrell and Jenifer McKim Bristol County officials are investigating the apparent suicide of a 47-year-old inmate at the county jail in North Dartmouth, prompting renewed criticism of the jail’s management under Sheriff Thomas Hodgson. The death of Michael Ray, of Fall River, on Saturday is the second suspected […]
WGBH / New England Center for Investigative Reporting: MA County Jail Suicides
Mary 6-10, 2017 WGBH / New England Center for Investigative Reporting May 6: Behind the Wall: Suicides Mount in Massachusetts County Jails By Jenifer McKim and Shaz Sajadi May 7: Suicides in County Jails Are All Too Common By Chris Burrell May 8: Why Is The Suicide Rate In Bristol County Jails So High? By Chris Burrell May 10: County Jails […]
Following Hernandez’s Death, A Discussion Of Suicide In Custody
April 19, 2017 WBUR By Deborah Becker Leslie Walker, executive director of Prisoners’ Legal Services, joins WBUR to discuss Aaron Hernandez’s suicide in his prison cell. Listen here or on the WBUR website:
Aaron Hernandez’s reported mode of suicide unusual for prison
April 19, 2017 The Boston Globe By Eric Moskowitz The executive director of the statewide inmate-advocate organization said she believes Aaron Hernandez’s death is the first reported successful suicide by an inmate hanging a sheet from a window at the maximum-security Souza-Baranowski prison, as authorities say Hernandez did. Leslie Walker, executive director of the nonprofit Prisoners’ […]