An Alachua County Jail inmate was found trying to hang himself with a bedsheet in his cell Tuesday, making it the second time in about two weeks a jail inmate has tried to commit suicide.
Officials found Miguel A. Hernandez, 20, hanging unconscious in his cell during a routine check, said ASO spokesman Art Forgey. Staffers cut him down, and he was taken to UF Health Shands Hospital, where he remained in critical condition as of press time.
Hernandez had been in jail with no bond since Sunday afternoon on an Illinois warrant for failing to register as a sex offender, Forgey said.
The other attempted suicide occurred Sept. 28 when officials found Austin Dionne, 22, in his cell, hanging from a bedsheet as well. Dionne was in jail on a $1 million bond after an investigation alleged he shook a 3-week-old child several times Sept. 19 when he got upset while playing Xbox.
Dionne was released on his own recognizance Oct. 8 and passed away soon after, Forgey said. Forgey said he was unsure of the cause of death.
So far this year, 15 Alachua County inmates attempted suicide, which is seven more attempts than in 2012, according to jail records.
Forgey said he’s not sure why there’s been an increase. However, deputies have noticed a rise in the number of people being Baker Acted. The act allows law enforcement to place a person involuntarily into a mental health facility.
“Jail puts added stress on a person,” Forgey said, “but we’ve seen it out on the road, too.”
Dionne didn’t show any mental-health red flags, Forgey said, but Hernandez did. He was placed under close observation in the jail’s medical pod. The suicide attempt occurred in between cell checks.
In the case of jail suicide attempts, Forgey said there are separate investigations conducted by two departments.
The criminal investigations division works to verify the act was a suicide and creates a timeline of the incident, he said.
The office of professional standards checks to make sure the incident was handled correctly. It also recommends protocol to prevent similar incidents.
In the case of the two most recent suicides, Forgey said the office could recommend substituting paper sheets to beds or completely removing sheets.
“We will look at the way we do business and see if we can make some changes to improve it,” he said.
A version of this story ran on page 1 on 10/17/2013 under the headline "Alachua County Jail sees its second recent suicide attempt"
