Brittany Hailer A third incarcerated person has died after being placed on the Allegheny County Jail’s detox protocol this year. Zachary Sahm, 27, was placed on the jail’s detoxification protocol after testing positive for fentanyl,…
A second man in federal custody dies at…
By Brittany Hailer Damon Leroy Kayes, 54, died Monday at Renewal Inc., a detention center in downtown Pittsburgh that houses federal, state and local incarcerated persons. He was pronounced dead at 1:21 a.m., according to…
Man transferred from Allegheny County Jail intake dies…
By Brittany Hailer James Washington, 42, a man released from Allegheny County Jail custody, died Monday around 5 p.m. at UPMC Mercy Hospital. He was found unresponsive in the jail's intake unit Sunday morning, according…
Incarcerated person dies after jumping from building in…
Brittany Hailer William Spencer, 24, a man in custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, jumped from a building on the 300 block of the Boulevard of the Allies in downtown Pittsburgh. He died after…
A Criminal Solution
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…
Incarcerated man with intellectual disabilities died of natural…
by Brittany Hailer Anthony Talotta, 57, an intellectually disabled man who died at UPMC Mercy in August after being transferred from the Allegheny County Jail, died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, according to the…
‘Try to do something’: 97-year-old Marion Damick shares…
by Amy Whipple At the January Jail Oversight Board meeting, Marion Damick stands behind a podium—her shoulders barely clearing its top—and pulls the microphone way down. “Here I am,” she says. She motions to the…
Manner of death ruled as ‘natural’ for two…
by Brittany Hailer Two men who died in the Allegheny County Jail earlier this year, died of natural causes related to heart disease, according to the most recent release from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner.…
Jail officials across Pa. sound alarm as mental…
A statewide survey of county jails by Spotlight PA and the Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism revealed many facilities openly admit they are not equipped for the growing mental health crisis by Brittany Hailer of…