For-Profit Prison in Pennsylvania to Pay Family of Janene Wallace $7 Million, in Connection with her Suicide
While serving 52 days of solitary confinement, 35-year-old Janene Wallace committed suicide in Delaware County Prison in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, on May 26, 2015. In November 2017 news, the for-profit, privately owned prison has agreed to pay Wallace’s family $7 million. The family sued the prison because their loved one was allegedly denied needed psychiatric treatment for her symptoms of paranoia, anxiety, and depression. The staff also allegedly mistreated Wallace, and a guard allegedly encouraged her to kill herself. In addition, the prior owner of the facility had agreed to make reforms designed to prevent future suicides.
According to authorities, Wallace used her bra to hang herself from a ventilation grate.
Some of the allegations made by the prisoner’s family were that she was denied daily medical checks as well as such essentials as towels, sheets, and blankets. They also say that one guard encouraged Wallace to choke herself, after she made a threat of suicide. The jail responded to those allegations. One of the claims of the prison is that Wallace refused mental health and medical treatment during her incarceration. This allegedly tracked with statements that her mother made about refusing mental health treatment during the years preceding incarceration.
It is common practice for individuals with known mental health issues to be arrested and imprisoned. Certain procedures to prevent custodial deaths are supposed to be followed for such prisoners, however, such as providing frequent observation, especially when there are any indications that a prisoner may potentially be suicidal.
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