JACKSON, Mich. (AP) — A person died after falling from an higher gallery at a Michigan jail, the fifth inmate since 2020 to die from falling or leaping at two prisons the place railings are just a few ft excessive.
Ervin Robinson II died on Saturday after a fall on the Egeler jail in Jackson County, spokesman Lucas Verran of the Corrections Division mentioned Wednesday.
“The matter is still under investigation,” Verran advised The Related Press.
5 inmates have died at Egeler or Parnall, one other jail within the space, below comparable circumstances since 2020, the Detroit Free Press reported. 4 deaths have been categorised as suicides.
Railings on higher flooring on the two prisons are 38 inches (96.5 centimeters) excessive, the newspaper reported.
In 2023, a jail worker despatched a criticism in regards to the railings to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who referred it to office security regulators, the Free Press mentioned.
“No hazard exists,” a Corrections Division official mentioned in a letter to the Michigan Occupational Security and Well being Administration, which closed the file with out a go to.
Robinson, 42, was sentenced to as much as eight years in jail in 2020 for failure to pay baby assist in Kent County. He was launched twice on parole however was returned to jail due to parole violations, Verran mentioned.
State Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, mentioned she was advised it could value tens of millions of {dollars} to boost the peak of the jail railings.
“It’s definitely something I’m tracking and something I’m concerned about,” she mentioned of jail security.
