Prison Policy Initiative (PPI), published the above article (find it here) and found an astonishing number of women and girls—almost ONE MILLION—- were either incarcerated, on probation, or on parole last year.

Women have a mortality rate significantly higher than men held in prison, and twice as high for deaths due to drug or alcohol intoxication. The incarceration rate for women has increased at twice the rate for men in the last decade. Data reported that 76% of women had indications of current or previous mental health problems.

The unfortunate death at Perryville spawned depressing numbers about suicides at the DOC. The number of suicide attempts since July of 2022 totaled 71, which was 19 more than the previous year. Just in the last 6 months, 10 incarcerated people have taken their lives.

Dr. Thornell talks about “re-imagining corrections”. He’d better quickly change the draconian conditions at Perryville, or he’ll have another record-setting suicide rate here. No one wants that.

The woman who hung herself Monday was on Charlie yard, not Delta. She waited for her roommate to go to work in the morning, removed her ID from the window, and hung herself from the vent above the toilet. The inmate was not found until count, and by that time she was declared dead at the scene. The coroner arrived three hours later.

In cases like this, there are a lot of finger-pointing and rumors swirling around a tragedy like this. We choose not to print them as we can’t verify them. Everyone here sends sincere condolences to her family.