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January 07, 2008
Parents, relatives call for independent investigation of deaths at RHUs in PA
Huntingdon PA Daily News Staff Writer
January 6, 2008
By GEORGE GERMANN
Parents, relatives, friends and prison-rights advocates are calling for an independent investigation into suicide deaths that happened within the past six months in the Restricted Housing Unit (RHU) at SCI Smithfield. About two dozen participated in a vigil Saturday at the state prison in an effort to gain support for such an investigation.
Inmate suicides do occur, but what is troubling is the fact that of the over two dozen-plus prisons operated by the state Department of
Corrections, fully one-third of those suicides took place in the
Smithfield prison's RHU.
"We are seeking to raise awareness and an outside oversight into the
conditions at Smithfield," Naimi Black of the American Friends Service
Committee - a Quaker organization - told The Daily News. "Three suicides
in six months should be a red flag."
Prior to Saturday's vigil, Lisa Hollibaugh, the spokesperson for SCI
Smithfield, told The Daily News the deaths were unfortunate, but said,
"there was nothing more staff could have done."All policies and procedures were followed," said Hollibaugh. "There is a review of all deaths" that happen in a prison.She also stated that any time an inmate alleges abuse, the allegation is"taken very seriously by the
institution and the DOC (Department of Corrections)."
But the raw data concerning the number of inmate suicides at the
Smithfield prison are discomforting. Of the nine inmate suicides in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections system, three occurred at
Smithfield between June and December. There were two suicides at
Rockview and one each at Albion, Greene, Muncy and Waymart.
One of the organizers of the vigil was Angelina Zheng, whose brother,
Joe Holguin, is reported to have hanged himself Oct. 29.
"He was on his way home," said Zheng. "My brother did not want to die." Zheng said that she received letters from her brother warning that something may happen to him. "He said, don't let them get away with it." The other inmate suicides at Smithfield include Joe Kapa Jr. June 25 andClifford Finney Dec. 2.Evelin Finney said her son claimed in letters that he may be murdered at the prison.
Relatives said that all of the inmates who committed suicide had mental health issues."What we want is an independent investigation," said Zheng. "These people are in pain," she said of the others at the vigil.
Joe Kapa Sr. said his son was only a couple of months away from being
released and had been in prison for over a decade. He questions why his son would commit suicide so close to being released.
Those at the vigil also claimed they were harassed by a prison
corrections officer Saturday.Prison staff had cordoned off an area in a field across from the prison, an area that would have held thousands.
Posted by lois at January 7, 2008 09:18 PM