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Prison Suicide

An illustration shows an orange figure sitting on a prison cot in a solitary confinement cell with teal walls and tally marks on the wall.
Jackson June 9
They Spent Years in Solitary Confinement in Mississippi Despite Suicide Risk
For decades, MDOC has regularly held incarcerated people in solitary confinement for weeks, months — and in some cases — years at a time.
By , Mina Corpuz, and Grant McLaughlin
An illustration with teal and orange colors shows a figure with moving fabric draped over them in a solitary prison cell, seen through a small window.
Jackson June 8
They Asked for Help. Instead, They Died in Solitary.
An investigation found there were at least 47 suicides in solitary confinement in Mississippi, where cries for mental health care were met with isolation and punishment.
By and Mina Corpuz
An illustration shows a man with medium-toned skin and dark curly hair on the left in the foreground, looking concerned, and a man on the right with light-toned skin and long brown hair with his hand gesturing towards his head. In the background, the two men in prison uniforms sit at a table. Barbed-wire fencing is woven through the illustration.
Life Inside July 8, 2022
‘You Shouldn’t Have Used the D-Word’
Saying “I’m depressed” to jail staff landed Nicholas Brooks in solitary. But with his peers, he has found a way to speak freely.
By Nicholas Brooks
Life Inside August 22, 2019
Mourning a Stranger’s Suicide in Prison
“Together we prayed and talked about who this girl might have been—and who she might have become.”
By Jennifer Toon
Life Inside December 6, 2018
Should I Have Let My Friend on Death Row Kill Himself?
“We don’t live on death row; we wait to die.”
By Paul Brown
Feature November 21, 2018
Treatment Denied: The Mental Health Crisis in Federal Prisons
The Bureau of Prisons set higher standards for psychiatric care. But instead of helping more inmates, the agency dropped thousands from its caseload, data shows.
By and Taylor Elizabeth Eldridge
Life Inside August 9, 2018
How I Befriended a Prisoner on Suicide Watch
I looked into her eyes and told her, “Promise me you won’t hurt yourself again.”
By Kimberly Davoren as told to
Feature June 21, 2018
Your Loved One Dies. The Prison Leaves a Voicemail.
Policies for notifying families about inmate deaths vary by state. Some say the process is often inhumane.
By
Life Inside July 13, 2017
My Friend Killed Himself in an Alabama Prison
A rash of suicides in solitary confinement hits an inmate close to home.
By Anonymous as told to
Men wait for an afternoon court appearance at the Milwaukee County Jail in 2009.
News April 28, 2017
Just Another Week in Hell
The news from your local lockup is not good.
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