Reentry Central published two articles on July 16, 2010 concerning suicides in jails and prisons. (see Dying in Jail and Reentry Central News Update, July 16, 2010.) The first article reported that suicide was responsible for 29% of deaths in jails. The subsequent update revealed that Massachusetts had a suicide rate of 71 per 100,000, compared to the national average of 16 per 100,000. The article further reported that there was a call for the Massachusetts legislature to set up a permanent panel to look into the high rate of suicide, and to make recommendations as to how to correct this problem.
While other inmates may have committed suicide since the articles were published, the latest reported one was covered by the media, worldwide.
With the suicide of Phillip Markoff, the so-called “Craigslist Killer,” at the Nashua Street Jail in Boston, the Massachusetts correctional system is once more in the spotlight. Markoff had tried to commit suicide previously, and questions might be raised by mental health officials and others as to why precautions were not made to prevent Markoff from succeeding this time.
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