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An inmate at Allegheny County Jail who had been housed with the jail’s mental health unit died Sunday morning. A press release from the county said the inmate, a 59-year-old man, was found unresponsive by jail staff around 7 a.m. Medical staff were called, and staff performed life-saving measures before paramedics arrived. The man was pronounced dead around 7:20 a.m. The name of the inmate who died has not been released. The man did not have any emergency contact information on file at the jail, and the jail was working to determine who to notify.Allegheny County officials said that the man had been booked on Jan. 11 on charges of retail theft, theft by unlawful taking, evading arrest and disorderly conduct. In April, the courts ruled he be taken to Torrance State Hospital for treatment but has since been housed in the jail’s mental health unit while awaiting transfer. Thirty-one inmates at the jail are awaiting transfer to Torrance, the county release said.“We have a number of individuals with acute mental health needs at the facility who have been committed to Torrance. Until a bed opens, they must remain at the jail per the Courts,” Warden Orlando Harper said. “There is a large waiting list for admittance and many jails are struggling with this same issue. Our last transfer to Torrance was on July 5 and we have one individual who has been waiting for transfer since March.” Democratic county Councilmember Bethany Hallam, who serves on the Jail Oversight Board, criticized the jail on Twitter, saying that this inmate had been “sitting in the ACJ since January — unconvicted. Suffering in a jail that is notoriously understaffed & locked down on weekends. Waiting (as SO many others do) for a bed at a treatment facility.”A meeting in May of the Jail Oversight Board got heated over the issue of transparency. Watch that report in the video aboveShe wrote that this was the 20th death at the jail since April 2020 and tagged several local Democratic officials, including Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.“All deaths are a tragedy. We take each one very seriously and are continuing to work with our partners to increase surveillance and take other measures to address preventable deaths,” said Harper in part. “This is our first death in our housing units since September 2022 because of the hard work that we’ve been doing to get people out of the facility.”In a statement, Republican candidate for county executive Joe Rockey said, “Our prayers are with this man and his loved ones. It is unacceptable that 20 people have died in the jail in the last 30 months.”It is clear that changes are needed at the county jail, starting with better staffing. The shortage of beds and mental health services needs to be addressed immediately.”Democrat candidate for county executive Sara Innamorato also released a statement to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4:”Another of our neighbors died in custody at the Allegheny County Jail again this weekend. First and foremost, my heart goes out to those who loved and cared for him. “This death is another tragic example of leadership failing to address the issues that have led to the deaths of 20 individuals in our County Jail over the past 30 months. We must break down the silos perpetuating this crisis and bring together all stakeholders — from formerly incarcerated individuals to public health experts — to implement desperately needed reforms inside and outside the jail. We need new leadership and a staffing plan for the ACJ, but we also must take a step back and ensure we reach people in crisis to connect them with resources instead of a prison cell in every case possible.”In May, a 60-year-old inmate from Dormont died at the jail. The county medical examiner determined the man had several drugs in his system, including fentanyl and cocaine. That inmate was identified as Tim Manino.Tanisha Long is the community organizer for the Abolitionist Law Center, which is a nonprofit law firm that works to defend and advocate for incarcerated people. Long said she wasn’t shocked to hear the news another person incarcerated lost their life inside the wall of the ACJ. “If they did things that would work to make people mentally healthy again instead of just discarding them after they get that behavioral health stamp then we might be in a different situation,” Long told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4. “We’ve been telling the jail oversight board for about a year and a half now that if the jail doesn’t get more healthcare staff, if they don’t change their mental healthcare practices, people are going to die and that’s the situation that we’re in.”No cause or manner of death has been released for the inmate who died Sunday. County police are investigating this death.A spokesperson for Fitzgerald said the county executive had no comment on the death.
An inmate at Allegheny County Jail who had been housed with the jail’s mental health unit died Sunday morning.
A press release from the county said the inmate, a 59-year-old man, was found unresponsive by jail staff around 7 a.m. Medical staff were called, and staff performed life-saving measures before paramedics arrived. The man was pronounced dead around 7:20 a.m.
The name of the inmate who died has not been released. The man did not have any emergency contact information on file at the jail, and the jail was working to determine who to notify.
Allegheny County officials said that the man had been booked on Jan. 11 on charges of retail theft, theft by unlawful taking, evading arrest and disorderly conduct. In April, the courts ruled he be taken to Torrance State Hospital for treatment but has since been housed in the jail’s mental health unit while awaiting transfer. Thirty-one inmates at the jail are awaiting transfer to Torrance, the county release said.
“We have a number of individuals with acute mental health needs at the facility who have been committed to Torrance. Until a bed opens, they must remain at the jail per the Courts,” Warden Orlando Harper said. “There is a large waiting list for admittance and many jails are struggling with this same issue. Our last transfer to Torrance was on July 5 and we have one individual who has been waiting for transfer since March.”
Democratic county Councilmember Bethany Hallam, who serves on the Jail Oversight Board, criticized the jail on Twitter, saying that this inmate had been “sitting in the ACJ since January — unconvicted. Suffering in a jail that is notoriously understaffed & locked down on weekends. Waiting (as SO many others do) for a bed at a treatment facility.”
A meeting in May of the Jail Oversight Board got heated over the issue of transparency. Watch that report in the video above
She wrote that this was the 20th death at the jail since April 2020 and tagged several local Democratic officials, including Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.
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“All deaths are a tragedy. We take each one very seriously and are continuing to work with our partners to increase surveillance and take other measures to address preventable deaths,” said Harper in part. “This is our first death in our housing units since September 2022 because of the hard work that we’ve been doing to get people out of the facility.”
In a statement, Republican candidate for county executive Joe Rockey said, “Our prayers are with this man and his loved ones. It is unacceptable that 20 people have died in the jail in the last 30 months.
“It is clear that changes are needed at the county jail, starting with better staffing. The shortage of beds and mental health services needs to be addressed immediately.”
Democrat candidate for county executive Sara Innamorato also released a statement to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4:
“Another of our neighbors died in custody at the Allegheny County Jail again this weekend. First and foremost, my heart goes out to those who loved and cared for him.
“This death is another tragic example of leadership failing to address the issues that have led to the deaths of 20 individuals in our County Jail over the past 30 months. We must break down the silos perpetuating this crisis and bring together all stakeholders — from formerly incarcerated individuals to public health experts — to implement desperately needed reforms inside and outside the jail. We need new leadership and a staffing plan for the ACJ, but we also must take a step back and ensure we reach people in crisis to connect them with resources instead of a prison cell in every case possible.”
In May, a 60-year-old inmate from Dormont died at the jail. The county medical examiner determined the man had several drugs in his system, including fentanyl and cocaine. That inmate was identified as Tim Manino.
Tanisha Long is the community organizer for the Abolitionist Law Center, which is a nonprofit law firm that works to defend and advocate for incarcerated people. Long said she wasn’t shocked to hear the news another person incarcerated lost their life inside the wall of the ACJ.
“If they did things that would work to make people mentally healthy again instead of just discarding them after they get that behavioral health stamp then we might be in a different situation,” Long told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4. “We’ve been telling the jail oversight board for about a year and a half now that if the jail doesn’t get more healthcare staff, if they don’t change their mental healthcare practices, people are going to die and that’s the situation that we’re in.”
No cause or manner of death has been released for the inmate who died Sunday. County police are investigating this death.
A spokesperson for Fitzgerald said the county executive had no comment on the death.
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