In 2018, on average, one inmate has died every 34 days in the Spokane jail facility. Most recently a woman was found unresponsive in her cell where she was pronounced dead due to peritonitis. In the past 14 months, three inmates died from hanging themselves, one from a fistfight, and two that remain under investigation.

Another inmate recently died from drug withdrawal when he should have been checked on every 15 minutes yet 32 minutes had passed between his last check and when his body was found unresponsive.

Numerous statements have been made regarding the safety and conditions inside the prisons. There have been concerns about the response time in emergency situations. Many people have drawn attention to guards not coming as quickly as they should in emergencies and not checking on people in the time frame that they are ordered to do so.

When the jail was built, it was designed to house 462 inmates, after expansion to the adjacent Public Safety Building and Air Force barracks, the prison population now stands at 980. This number is nearly double, what the jail is designed to hold and prepared to care for. They are so overpopulated and understaffed that one corrections officer can be in charge of up to 184 inmates each day.

Although the jail was designed for a direct supervision model that allowed inmates access to TV, books, phones, games and other activities, it is being run similarly to a maximum security prison instead with awful conditions.

Read the story through this link: http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/aug/31/man-died-by-choking-on-vomit-in-spokane-county-jai/