A man attempted suicide at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility on Monday, officials confirmed Tuesday.
The incident comes just over a month after another inmate died after hanging himself in his cell at the prison on Water Street.
Monday’s incident involved a 27-year-old man who was incarcerated April 30, said county Correctional Services Division Head Mark Rockovich.
This inmate’s “very serious suicide attempt” was discovered around 7:30 p.m. Monday, Rockovich said. The man remained at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital on Tuesday.
“We are actively monitoring the situation and how he is doing,” Rockovich said. “I’m hoping for a full recovery.”
In the prior case, the 36-year-old inmate died at Wilkes-Barre General on March 28 after he had been found unresponsive in his assigned cell at approximately 9:33 p.m. on March 22.
County Coroner Francis Hacken had said the cause of death was hanging, and the manner was suicide.
Following standard protocol, the county District Attorney’s Office was immediately notified after each case, Rockovich said.
County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said Tuesday he is in the process of completing a final report on the inmate death and investigating the latest incident.
Rockovich has said he and the entire staff are vigilant about suicide prevention.
County officials stepped up mental health services and protocols, in part to address concerns raised after the death of four female inmates from June 2017 to January 2018. Three of these deaths were ruled suicides, and the fourth was deemed accidental.
In addition to inmates impacted by dependency on opioids and other drugs, more offenders with mental health disabilities land in the county prison system today due to the closure and downsizing of state hospitals in favor of community-based treatment programs that in many cases never materialized, officials have said.