Inmate dies at Allegheny County Jail after being found unresponsive
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A man in the Allegheny County Jail since January who hadn't been convicted and was waiting to be transferred to a treatment facility has died.
Officials said the 59-year-old inmate, whose name hasn't been released, was found unresponsive by jail staff in his cell on Sunday.
Sunday's death at the jail marks the 20th death in the last three years and the second in two months. Advocates say this is yet another travesty that could have been prevented.
Tanisha Long is the community organizer for the Abolitionist Law Center, which is a non-profit organization that defends and advocates for incarcerated people. She said the latest inmate death at the jail was absolutely preventable.
"We've been warning the Jail Oversight Board, jail officials and Rich Fitzgerald that if they did not change their mental health procedures, if they did not get medical staff into that jail, that someone else was going to die," Long said.
According to the jail, the unnamed inmate was found unresponsive by jail staff around 7 a.m. on Sunday. Life-saving efforts were made before paramedics arrived, but the 59-year-old didn't make it.
The man was booked on Jan. 11 on retail theft, theft, evading arrest and disorderly conduct. In April, the courts ordered a transfer to Torrance State Hospital for treatment but a bed was not available, so he was housed in the mental health unit of the jail.
"It doesn't just come down to if there is a bed at Torrance," Long said. "It comes down to the practices that leave people waiting months and months and months to have a bed. So no one should be in this situation to begin with."
Jail Warden Orlando Harper said in a press release:
"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. 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."
In a statement to KDKA-TV, Sara Innamorato, Democratic candidate for Allegheny County executive, said:
"The 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."
Allegheny County police are investigating and the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office will determine a cause and manner of death.