Prisoner suicide
Encyclopedia
Prisoner suicide is suicide
by an inmate in a prison
. Prisons in the United Kingdom
had a sharp rise in suicides between 1972 and 1987, with hanging
being the most common suicide method. A study found that 47% of the deaths in Finnish prisons were suicides. Large percentages of those who commit suicide in prison do so after having recently received mental health services. The suicide rate in U.S. federal prisons is lower than the nationwide average. Pretrial detainees tend to have higher rates of suicide than other inmates, and suicides occur most commonly in isolation cells. The most common time for suicides to occur is in the early morning hours. Suicidal inmates are sometimes put on suicide watch
. In the United States, liability can arise if jail and prison officials demonstrate deliberate indifference toward a prisoner's suicidal tendencies, as suicidal inmates are regarded as being in need of medical care.
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by an inmate in a prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. Prisons in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
had a sharp rise in suicides between 1972 and 1987, with hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
being the most common suicide method. A study found that 47% of the deaths in Finnish prisons were suicides. Large percentages of those who commit suicide in prison do so after having recently received mental health services. The suicide rate in U.S. federal prisons is lower than the nationwide average. Pretrial detainees tend to have higher rates of suicide than other inmates, and suicides occur most commonly in isolation cells. The most common time for suicides to occur is in the early morning hours. Suicidal inmates are sometimes put on suicide watch
Suicide watch
Suicide watch is an intensive monitoring process used to ensure that an individual does not die by suicide. Usually the term is used in reference to inmates in a prison, hospital, psychiatric hospital, or military bases...
. In the United States, liability can arise if jail and prison officials demonstrate deliberate indifference toward a prisoner's suicidal tendencies, as suicidal inmates are regarded as being in need of medical care.