An inmate at the Allegheny County Jail who had been housed in the jail’s mental health unit died Sunday morning. A county news release said the inmate, a 59-year-old man, was found unconscious by jail staff around 7 a.m. Medical personnel were called and staff took life-saving measures before paramedics arrived. The man was pronounced dead around 7:20 am A May meeting of the Prison Oversight Board became heated over the issue of transparency. Check out that report in the video above. The name of the inmate who died has not been released. The man did not have any emergency contact information on file with the jail, and the jail was working to determine who to notify. Allegheny County officials said the man was booked Jan. 11 on charges of shoplifting, burglary, evading arrest and disorderly conduct. He was taken to Torrance State Hospital in April and housed in the jail’s mental health unit. Thirty-one inmates at the jail are waiting to be transferred to Torrance, according to the county statement. “We have several people with acute mental health needs at the facility who have been admitted to Torrance. Until a bed opens up, they should stay in jail according to the courts,” Warden Orlando Harper said. “There is a long waiting list to get in and many jails are struggling with this very problem. Our last transfer to Torrance was on July 5th and we have a person who has been waiting for the transfer since March.” Democratic County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam, who sits on the Jail Oversight Board, criticized the jail on Twitter, saying this inmate had been “sitting in the ACJ since January, unconvicted. Suffering in a jail that is notoriously understaffed and closed on weekends. Waiting (as SO MANY others do) for a bed in a treatment center.” She wrote that this was the 20th jailhouse death since April 2020 and tagged several local Democratic officials, including Pittsburgh’s mayor. Ed Gainey and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald. “All deaths are a tragedy. We take each one very seriously and continue to work with our partners to increase surveillance and take other steps to address preventable deaths,” Harper said in part. “This is our first death in our housing units since September 2022 due to the hard work we have been doing to get people out of the facility.” In a statement, Republican county executive candidate Joe Rockey said: “Our prayers are with this man and his loved ones. It is unacceptable that 20 people have died in jail in the last 30 months.” It’s clear that changes are needed at the county jail, starting with better staffing. The shortage of mental health beds and services must be addressed immediately.” In May, a 60-year-old Dormont inmate died in jail. The county medical examiner determined the man had multiple drugs in his system, including fentanyl and cocaine. That inmate was identified as Tim Manino. The cause or manner of death of the inmate who died on Sunday has not been released.
An inmate at the Allegheny County Jail who had been housed in the jail’s mental health unit died Sunday morning.
A county news release said the inmate, a 59-year-old man, was found unconscious by jail staff around 7 a.m. Medical personnel were called and staff took life-saving measures before paramedics arrived. The man was pronounced dead around 7:20 a.m.
A May meeting of the Prison Oversight Board became heated over the issue of transparency. Check out that report in the video above.
The name of the inmate who died has not been released. The man did not have any emergency contact information on file with the jail, and the jail was working to determine who to notify.
Allegheny County officials said the man was booked Jan. 11 on charges of retail theft, burglary, evading arrest and disorderly conduct. He was taken to Torrance State Hospital in April and housed in the jail’s mental health unit. Thirty-one inmates at the jail are waiting to be transferred to Torrance, according to the county statement.
“We have a number of people with acute mental health needs at the facility who have engaged with Torrance. Until a bed opens up, they should stay in jail according to the courts,” Warden Orlando Harper said. “There is a long waiting list to get in and many jails are struggling with this very problem. Our last transfer to Torrance was on July 5th and we have a person who has been waiting for the transfer since March.”
Democratic county councilor Bethany Hallam, who sits on the Jail Oversight Board, criticized the jail on Twitter, saying this inmate had been “sitting in ACJ since January, unconvicted. Suffering in a jail that’s notoriously understaffed and closed on weekends. Waiting (like so many others) for a bed in a treatment center.”
She wrote that this was the 20th jailhouse death since April 2020 and tagged several local Democratic officials, including Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald.
“All deaths are a tragedy. We take each one very seriously and continue to work with our partners to increase surveillance and take other steps to address preventable deaths,” Harper said in part. “This is our first death in our housing units since September 2022 due to the hard work we have been doing to get people out of the facility.”
In a statement, Republican county executive candidate Joe Rockey said: “Our prayers are with this man and his loved ones. It is unacceptable that 20 people have died in jail in the last 30 months.”
“It’s clear that changes are needed at the county jail, starting with better staffing. The shortage of mental health beds and services must be addressed immediately.”
In May, a 60-year-old inmate from Dormont died in jail. The county medical examiner determined that the man had multiple drugs in his system, including fentanyl and cocaine. That inmate was identified as Tim Manino.
The cause or manner of death of the inmate who died Sunday has not been released. County police are investigating this death.
A Fitzgerald spokesman said the county executive had no comment on the death.
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