State Police Open Investigation After Female Inmate Commits Suicide
YPSILANTI (AP) -- A criminal investigation has started following last year's death of a 25-year-old inmate in a women's prison near Ypsilanti.
The Detroit Free Press reports Saturday that the state police are looking into Janika Edmond's suicide at the Huron Valley Correctional Facility.
Edmond was found in November with underwear tied around her neck. A corrections officer and a resident unit manager were fired in March.
Her family's lawyer, David Steingold, believes the employees could have prevented the death.
Steingold told the Free Press that Edmond had a history of suicide threats and had requested a suicide prevention vest -- a heavy nylon smock fastened with Velcro -- from prison officials. He said she was not given one.
Edmond was in prison for violating probation in a previous criminal case.
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