Letter to the editor: Learning from jail deaths?

According to the National Commission on Correctional Health Care’s Mortality Report regarding the many deaths at the Allegheny County Jail, “Allegheny County does not do mortality reviews,” which is a violation of National Commission on Correctional Health Care standard, “Procedure in the Event of an Inmate Death.”

How is the jail going to learn about preventing deaths if staff doesn’t do mortality reviews? Imagine the opportunity for prevention and saving lives if the jail did mortality reviews for the 19 people who have died at our jail since April 2020.

The report stated, “Staff, including line supervisors, indicated they don’t hear information on critical incidents, specifically deaths and suicides, or follow up or corrective information.” Even if the jail administration would do mortality reports, there is a question concerning whether line supervisors and staff who need to know this information would be informed.

The Jail Oversight Board will soon be hiring a “liaison” who will conduct investigations of the jail on behalf of the JOB. An innovative policy would be for the liaison or a board member to attend all these mortality reviews and make sure they are done. This practice will bring the JOB directly involved with the jail so they can work together to initiate policies and practices to prevent further deaths.

If our current county executive and warden are going to set up roadblocks for this innovative policy to occur, then I believe our next county executive and warden will welcome the execution of such a policy.

John Kenstowicz

Morningside