Determining whether someone is mentally fit to stand trial in Pennsylvania often traps them in the very place making them worse — jail. This is the story of one woman’s fight to get out. A…
Allegheny County sued after jail allegedly failed to…
By Brittany Hailer Content warning: this story includes topics of suicide, suicidal ideation and self-harm A year after he was found unresponsive in the Allegheny County Jail, Martin Bucek’s ex-wife, Dolly Bucek, filed a civil…
“Are we running a jail or a cemetery?”…
Jake Dabkowski Inadequate medical staffing at the Allegheny County Jail, jail officials' failure to notify families of deaths in a timely manner and Warden Orlando Harper’s response to families were publicly addressed today at a…
A man died in jail. Now his mother…
By Brittany Hailer The mother of a man who died at the Allegheny County Jail in March has filed a request for an investigation with the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board into Common Pleas Judge Anthony…
Blunt force trauma to the head cited as…
By Brittany Hailer Paul Spisak, an incarcerated person at the Allegheny County Jail, suffered blunt force trauma to the head resulting in his Jan. 30 death, according to a press release from the Allegheny County…
An incarcerated man died in the Allegheny County…
By Brittany Hailer Jerry Lee Ross Jr., 48, died at the Allegheny County Jail Thursday, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner. This death is the third to occur this year and the 14th since…
Her husband died after transfer to the hospital…
By Brittany Hailer For several days, Theresa Harris’ daughter refreshed VineLink, an online portal that indicates if someone is in custody at the Allegheny County Jail, trying to find out if her father was in…
Lack of transparency and oversight leave officials, families…
By Brittany Hailer In Allegheny County, families of incarcerated individuals who die after entering the Allegheny County Jail have difficulty getting details about what happened to their loved ones. Autopsy reports remain closed to the…
In most of the state autopsy reports for…
By Brittany Hailer Allegheny County and Philadelphia County are the only counties in Pennsylvania where autopsy reports from coroner and medical examiners offices are not available to the public, according to state law. Allegheny County…