A Woman Threatens Suicide in an Oklahoma Jail and Follows Through Within an Hour
On Sunday, October 8, 2017, a woman was discovered deceased in her jail cell at Midwest City Jail in Midwest City, Oklahoma. According to police, the 53-year-old woman had been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol at approximately 2:20 a.m. Sunday. Her blood alcohol content was allegedly twice the legal limit, at .19%. The woman told jail staff that she intended to do harm to herself. For that reason, seemingly in compliance with procedure, her clothes were taken from her and she was placed in a protective jail suit in a cell by herself. She went to a toilet area, however, and was discovered there at about 3:45 a.m., already deceased. Police Chief Brandon Clabes said that every precaution that the jail staff needed to take was adhered to, in an effort to keep the woman safe.
Of course, this jail suicide is under investigation. Custodial death is something jails have a duty to try to avoid. Particularly when inmates advise jail staff members of their intent to hurt themselves, precautions are enhanced. Assessments are also done when inmates are being admitted into jails. An important part of an assessment is to find out whether or not the individual is at risk for suicide or violence.
New laws have been enacted this year in Texas under the Sandra Bland Act. The purpose is to help prevent jail suicides among inmates who may have mental issues of some kind.
There have been many occasions when the family members of people who committed suicide in jail sued the county for some type of neglect leading to the death. That is the type of detail that will be looked into during this investigation in Midwest City.
As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.
–Guest Contributor
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smchugh