Questions Remain Following Two Inmate Suicides

The questions on how to move forward and the lessons learned following two deaths by suicide in Montgomery County Correctional Facilities remain unanswered following a briefing between with Montgomery County Council’s Public Safety Committee and the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation staff.

On July 4, Theirry Nkusu hung himself two days after being sentenced for a domestic violence murder. Earlier this month, Tyler Tessier hung himself on the third day of his trial.  Tessier was accused of killing pregnant school teacher Laura Wallen.

Both inmates used a sheet, according to Robert Green, Director of the County’s Department of Correction and Rehabilitation.

Green’s team prepared a 39-page report for the public safety committee, detailing national and local suicide trends in prisons, the department of correction’s procedures for evaluating and treating inmates at risk of harming themselves, and how the more than 300 uniformed staff at the county’s detention center are trained in suicide prevention.

The report, however, did not satisfy Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich.

“I thank you for the material. I think all of us recognize that we all have an excellent facility […] we have this problem and what didn’t get addressed is what have we learned from these two incidents and what will you do differently?”

Hear how Green responded to what the department of corrections is doing in the video below:

About Mitti Hicks

Mitti Hicks is a multimedia journalist and community engagement specialist with Montgomery Community Media. She is passionate about telling stories that impact our community and may be reached at MHicks@mymcmedia.org and on Twitter @mittimegan.

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