Sheriff deputies in Oklahoma have launched an investigation after a 16-year-old inmate committed suicide, officials said on May 2.
Detention officers at the Oklahoma County Jail said that they did a sight check on the teen just after midnight on April 23 and he appeared to be fine. Twenty minutes later, he was found hanging from a light fixture by a noose.
He was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead on May 1, officials told KFOR.
The teen, who was identified as John Leroy Daniel Applegate, was booked into the jail on Feb. 4 on complaints of first-degree rape, assault with a dangerous weapon, obstructing an officer, and resisting arrest.
Sheriff’s deputies are investigating after a young inmate committed suicide in the Oklahoma County Jail. https://t.co/llq8JonXir
— KFOR (@kfor) May 2, 2019
The death is the second in the jail this year.
Mischelle Gonzalez, a 29-year-old homeless U.S. Army veteran who was locked up in October 2018, died in January, reported The Oklahoman.
Gonzalez was also found after hanging herself in her cell and was rushed to a hospital. She was pronounced dead soon after arriving at the hospital.
Gonzalez had been booked on orders of a judge after she failed to make mental health court appearances; she had been treated in the past for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety.
Dead Oklahoma County jail inmate identified https://t.co/2A7SenXXi6 pic.twitter.com/zk9HW0cg8j
— TheOklahoman (@TheOklahoman) January 10, 2019
Former Jail Administrator Jailed
A former jail administrator in Oklahoma was sentenced to serve 55 hours in jail after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the 2016 death of an inmate.
Jennifer Shay Niles was sentenced on May 1, reported KFOR.
The plea was in connection to the death of Anthony Huff, 58, at the Garfield County Jail.
Huff was arrested for public intoxication and was booked into the jail. He was placed in a restraint chair two days later and was found unresponsive in the chair two days after that.
During his time in the chair, Huff was not given “proper amounts of food, water, or medical treatment for illnesses he was suffering from,” a press release from Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter read. An autopsy said his cause of death was natural causes, likely chronic alcoholism.
Lawyers for Huff’s family alleged that jail employees were negligent and should have known about his medical conditions because he’d previously been in jail. Jail staff also didn’t receive a medical recommendation to use the chair, the lawsuit said.
A former Garfield County jail administrator was sentenced to less than three days in jail after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter in connection with an inmate’s death. https://t.co/LZz305r9CK
— KFOR (@kfor) May 2, 2019
Suicide and Suicide Prevention
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. In 2017, approximately 47,000 Americans died by suicide and there were an estimated 1.4 million suicide attempts, the foundation said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report (pdf) Vital Signs: Trends in State Suicide Rates on June 8, 2018, revealing that suicide rates have increased by 30 percent since 1999. However, the report points out that there were a variety of factors other than mental health conditions that lead to suicide.
“Suicide rates increased significantly across most states during 1999–2016. Various circumstances contributed to suicides among persons with and without known mental health conditions,” the report stated.
If you or someone you know is showing signs that they might be suicidal, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 800-273-TALK (8255). You can also text the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Young people can call the Kids Help Phone on 1-800-668-6868.
