WTNH News Channel 8 / News / 1999

	Inmate Suicides Prompt Review of Prison Policies (Niantic-WTNH) _ The prison policy in Connecticut is under scrutiny after two recent inmate suicides at the womens prison in Niantic. Within a ten-day period two women hanged themselves at the York Correctional Institution. Now staff there is being shuffled and state officials are scrambling for answers. News Channel 8's Peter Standring reports from our Southeastern Newsroom at The Day. When Maria Chapman was in prison she shared a cell with a very troubled young woman. right away chapman says she could tell the woman was serious about taking her own life. Maria Chapman, Former Inmate: "She was a very young girl, very depressed... Crying, saying she was gonna commit suicide, 'I'm gonna kill myself, I'm gonna kill myself'." On Monday her one-time bunk-mate, 19 year old Bobbi-Jo Garcia, did kill herself. At the time she was in the prison's mental health clinic supposedly under close scrutiny. Just a few days earlier another inmate, 40 year old Linda Hogan, also took her own life. In the wake of those suicides, the department is reviewing its policies. 2 mental health administrators have been re-assigned and three nurses from the clinic have been placed on leave. Corrections officials have also come up with a so-called action plan examining new ways of dealing with suicidal inmates. Christina Polce, Dept. of Corrections: "The goal of the action plan is to ensure that we as an agency do everything possible to prevent inmates from harming themselves." Whenever an inmate does threaten to harm herself Polce says she's immediately attended to and evaluated by experienced mental health workers. Polce: "They all understand that any threat about suicide is a serious incident and that's it not something to be ignored, it's something we need to follow through on." But not so according to Chapman. She says inmates' threats are often ignored and she thinks her friend's death should have been prevented. Chapman: "It bothers me, she was a beautiful young girl and it's a waste because they could have taken better care of her." Although the incidents are under investigation, corrections officials say the suicides were not preventable. Just the same they are re-examing how prison workers are trained and how inmates are evaluated. They're also looking at making changes at the prison to prevent inmates from being able to hang themselves. Today's News Page. WTNH Home Page. ©1999 WTNH/WTNH-DT A LIN station.

Inmate Suicides Prompt Review of Prison Policies
(Niantic-WTNH) _ The prison policy in Connecticut is under scrutiny after two recent inmate suicides at the womens prison in Niantic. Within a ten-day period two women hanged themselves at the York Correctional Institution. Now staff there is being shuffled and state officials are scrambling for answers.
News Channel 8's Peter Standring reports from our Southeastern Newsroom at The Day.

When Maria Chapman was in prison she shared a cell with a very troubled young woman. right away chapman says she could tell the woman was serious about taking her own life.

Maria Chapman, Former Inmate: "She was a very young girl, very depressed... Crying, saying she was gonna commit suicide, 'I'm gonna kill myself, I'm gonna kill myself'."

On Monday her one-time bunk-mate, 19 year old Bobbi-Jo Garcia, did kill herself. At the time she was in the prison's mental health clinic supposedly under close scrutiny. Just a few days earlier another inmate, 40 year old Linda Hogan, also took her own life.

In the wake of those suicides, the department is reviewing its policies. 2 mental health administrators have been re-assigned and three nurses from the clinic have been placed on leave. Corrections officials have also come up with a so-called action plan examining new ways of dealing with suicidal inmates.

Christina Polce, Dept. of Corrections: "The goal of the action plan is to ensure that we as an agency do everything possible to prevent inmates from harming themselves."

Whenever an inmate does threaten to harm herself Polce says she's immediately attended to and evaluated by experienced mental health workers.

Polce: "They all understand that any threat about suicide is a serious incident and that's it not something to be ignored, it's something we need to follow through on."

But not so according to Chapman. She says inmates' threats are often ignored and she thinks her friend's death should have been prevented.

Chapman: "It bothers me, she was a beautiful young girl and it's a waste because they could have taken better care of her."

Although the incidents are under investigation, corrections officials say the suicides were not preventable. Just the same they are re-examing how prison workers are trained and how inmates are evaluated. They're also looking at making changes at the prison to prevent inmates from being able to hang themselves.

Today's News Page.

WTNH Home Page.