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Why Isn’t Suicide Prevention in County Jails Saving More Lives?-Pt.16

Myths about Inmate Suicide Continued

A Gregg County Jail Inmate Hangs Herself with a TV Cable Continued

A jailer at Gregg County Jail in Longview, Texas, made an unscheduled floor check at 10:40 PM on May 26, 2022. The address of Gregg County Jail is 100 West Whaley, Longview, TX 75601. He discovered that inmate Ashley Elizabeth Maxwell was hanging by the neck from the front metal grate cell wall of her cell. She had used the television cable wire in the cell to form a makeshift ligature.

Ms. Maxwell secured the cable wire and noose to the heavy wire mesh cell wall that makes up the front wall of the cell. The cable extended from the ceiling down to an area low enough to allow Ms. Maxwell to climb the steel mesh wall to reach the noose and high enough to allow her body to hang from the noose with her feet off the floor. She secured the cable and noose to the wall by threading the cable through the mesh and making a knot there, which took the weight off the ceiling wire receptacle and allowed the cable to support her weight.

Also learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, and Part 15 of this continuing series.

Providing help to inmates now or formerly detained in a Texas municipal or county jail is one of the purposes of this website. There is never an intention of implying that misdeeds have occurred on the part of individuals or institutions.

–Guest Contributor

Written By: author avatar smchugh
author avatar smchugh