RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia state report says the Riverside Regional Jail failed to monitor an inmate and wasn't equipped to handle a suicide.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the state Board of Corrections report also says a jail officer also faked observation records about an unmonitored inmate who killed himself. Jail interim Superintendent Karen Craig told officials Tuesday that the jail has since increased staff and implemented new oversight procedures.
The board last year began probing all jail deaths since 2015 following the death of inmate Jamycheal Mitchell. Mitchell was mentally ill and accused of shoplifting $5 worth of snacks. He died at another regional jail in 2015 after losing significant weight while state-level mistakes prevented his transfer to a mental hospital.
Riverside was sued last year over allegations of Christian-only inmate housing.
