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How Privatization Destroyed an Illinois Jail's Award-winning Suicide Prevention Program
Several years ago, while working at our local Books to Prisoners, I met a volunteer who was formerly a mental health counselor in the local jail in Champaign County, Illinois. This was just after there had been three jail suicides within a six-month period in 2004. She recalled a time ...
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More from this issue:
- Prison Rape Elimination Act Standards Finally in Effect, but Will They be Effective?, by Alex Friedmann
- Prisoners Raped and Sexually Abused While PREA Standards Pending
- U.S. Supreme Court Denies Stay of California Prisoner Release Order
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Employee Disciplinary Problems Persist at Houston Jails, by Matthew Clarke
- How Privatization Destroyed an Illinois Jail's Award-winning Suicide Prevention Program, by Brian Dolinar
- Missouri: Arrestees Billed for Cost of Police Tasers, by Christopher Zoukis
- High-Tech, High-Risk Forensics, by Osagie K. Obasogie
- The Americans with Disabilities Act and Prisoners, by Thomas Weiss
- Michigan County Sanctioned for Defrauding Federal Court in Prisoner Death Case, by David Reutter
- Solitary Confinement for Death Row Prisoners a Blot on U.S. Justice System, by Derek Gilna
- Oklahoma’s DNA Law Means Post-Conviction Testing Available in All 50 States, by Christopher Zoukis
- Habeas Hints: Actual Innocence, by Kent A. Russell
- Second Circuit Establishes Property Seizure Standards for Civilly Committed Persons
- 500 Escape from Abu Ghraib and Taji Prisons in Iraq, by Christopher Zoukis
- Illinois DOC’s Failure to Accommodate Disabled Prisoners States Rehabilitation Act Claim
- Seventh Circuit: Indiana Tolling Provision May Excuse Time-Barred Suit; Rule 12(b)(6) Dismissal Improper
- PLN Resolves Censorship Suit Against Oregon County Jail for $51,000 Plus Fees and Costs, by Alex Friedmann
- After Ten Years, FCC Votes for Prison Phone Reforms!, by David Ganim
- First Circuit: Rejection of Settlement Offer Does Not Justify Defendants’ Attorney Fee Award
- Pennsylvania: Parole Board May Expound on Court-ordered Probation Conditions
- Washington Community Custody, Sex Offender Registration and Release Conditions Modified
- Seventh Circuit Retires “De Minimis” Standard for Use of Physical Force
- New Mexico Prison Doctor Fingered in Lawsuits
- Minnesota: Remedies for Civil Commitments are Limited
- Qualified Immunity for NY Prison Officials who Failed to Award Parole Jail Time
- Wrongful Immigration Detention Suit Reinstated by Second Circuit, Dismissed on Remand, by Derek Gilna
- Ninth Circuit Requires Notice to Pro Se Prisoner Litigants for Motions to Dismiss for Failure to Exhaust
- California Supreme Court: Cutting Through Fences May Not Constitute Attempt to Escape
- Seventh Circuit Upholds CCA’s Victory in Indiana Jail Conditions Suit
- California: Victim’s Post-Death Economic Losses Not Subject to Mandatory Restitution
- Second Circuit: No Social Security Payments for Prisoners
- News in Brief
More from Brian Dolinar:
- Cages Without Bars Are Widening the Net: The Explosion of Electronic Monitoring, Jan. 1, 2023
- Prison Profiteer Is Using Sandra Bland’s Death to Sell Surveillance Technology, Sept. 30, 2022
- Louisiana Prisoners Used as Slave Labor During Hurricane Ida, Families Left in the Dark for Weeks, Nov. 1, 2021
- Eleven Guards Fired after Death at Houston Jail, Nov. 1, 2021
- Hunger Strike, Ceiling Collapse, Lawsuit Spotlight Deteriorating Conditions at Women’s Prison in Illinois, Oct. 1, 2021
- Prioritizing Incarcerated People for Vaccine Quickly Reduced COVID in IL Prisons, June 1, 2021
- New Surge of COVID Is Spreading “Like Wildfire” in Illinois Prisons, March 1, 2021
- Illinois Prison Phone Rates are Lowest Following Grassroots Activism, Aug. 6, 2019
- Profiting Off Mass Incarceration: Detroit Pistons Owner Buys Private Prison Phone Company, Oct. 10, 2017
- With General Inch in Charge, We Can Expect Further Militarization of the Prison System, Aug. 30, 2017
More from these topics:
- News in Brief, Aug. 1, 2025. Staff-Prisoner Assault, Private Prisons, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Male Reproductive, Malpractice, Escapes, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Stun Guns/Tasers, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Restraints, Excessive Force (Wrongful Death), Juvenile Prisons, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Bribery/Extortion/Theft.
- CDCR Held in Contempt, Fined $112 Million in Longstanding Litigation Over Mental Health Care, Aug. 1, 2025. Staffing, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Tennessee Legislature Passes Bill to Penalize Private Prisons for High Mortality Rates, Aug. 1, 2025. Private Prisons, Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic.
- Shady Firm Awarded $78 Million Contract for Services at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz”, Aug. 1, 2025. Private Prisons, Environmental Law, Immigration.
- Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Arizona Challenge to Private Prisons, July 15, 2025. Private Prisons, Eighth Amendment, Thirteenth Amendment, rights, Fourteenth Amendment, rights.
- Ohio Supreme Court Says Sheriff Must Get and Disclose Records of Private Contractors, July 15, 2025. Private Prisons, Contractor Liability, Public Records Act.
- $550,000 Settlement After Juvenile’s Suicide at Charlotte Jail, July 15, 2025. Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Failure to Protect (Juveniles).
- Watchdogs Fault Nebraska Prisons for Suicide Response, Overpaid Staff, June 1, 2025. Suicides, Guards/Staff, Staff Training.
- Ninth Circuit Revives Complaint Over Sloppy Cell Checks Before Psychotic Detainee’s Death at L.A. Jail, June 1, 2025. Failure to Protect (General), Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Self-Harming Wisconsin Prisoner Settles Failure-to-Protect Suit for $7,000, April 1, 2025. Settlements, Suicides, Failure to Protect (Staff).