Suicide warning signs missed at Washington prisons, investigation finds
For the second time in less than a year, Washingtonâs Corrections Ombuds (OCO) is warning that the stateâs prison system needs to do more to prevent inmate suicides.
In a 15-page investigation scheduled for release Monday, the OCO found that two inmates died by suicide in 2020 after prison staff failed to recognize signs of mental distress and didnât follow suicide prevention policies.
âSuicides are preventable. There should be zero, that should be the goalâ said Assistant Ombuds Dr. Patricia David, the investigationâs author and the OCOâs Director of Patient Safety and Performance Review.
Commentary By
Sarah Parshall Perry is a legal fellow in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation.
“Pass it and save lives,” President Joe Biden said last week in his address to Congress regarding congressional reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. The House already did so last month, and given the bill’s title, you’d think it would be an easy lift for the Senate.
After all, doesn’t the Violence Against Women Act have the best interests of American women at heart?
And yet the House vote was split largely along party lines. As one House member noted, a surfeit of add-on provisions had made the bill unnecessarily partisan.
May 02, 2021
The Washington State Department of Corrections (WDOC) is offering vaccinations to some people in its facilities. Currently, vaccinations are available to group 1A, which includes workers, elderly or high-risk people. Group 1B, which includes some other incarcerated people, began on Jan. 17.
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There is a lot of talk, controversy and rumor around vaccines inside the facilities.
WDOC is currently using the Moderna vaccine. We don t get to choose which vaccine we want. The consensus from those who have received the first shot is that it makes you sick. People report uncomfortable symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and even swelling, redness, and pain at the injection site.
Washington Department of Corrections to allow in-person visits starting May 9
Visits must be scheduled ahead of time and visitors must pass a health screening and undergo a temperature check at the facility.
Credit: Taylor Mirfendereski | KING 5
The visitation room at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor. Author: KING 5 Staff Updated: 11:05 AM PDT May 3, 2021
TUMWATER, Wash. The Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) will allow in-person visits to inmates for the first time in over a year starting May 9.
The DOC discontinued visits in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. With the number of vaccinations rising, the department was able to finalize plans to re-open structured in-person visitation, according to a release.
May 3rd, 2021 3 min read
COMMENTARY BY
Legal Fellow, Meese Center
Sarah Parshall Perry is a Legal Fellow for the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Glasshouse Images / Getty Images
Key Takeaways
The bill would require vulnerable women in shelters fleeing abuse to be housed alongside biological men in close quarters.
With provisions such as these, VAWA makes a mockery of long-standing protections for biological women.
Whatever the bill’s laudable aims, they are lost in its pandering to special interests.
“Pass it and save lives,” President Biden said in his address to Congress regarding congressional reauthorization of the “Violence Against Women Act” (VAWA). The U.S. House already did so last month, and given the bill’s title, you’d think it would be an easy lift for the Senate. After all, doesn’t VAWA have the best interests of American women at heart?