WESTMORELAND COUNTY, PA - A longtime Westmoreland County Prison corrections officer is being commended for thwarting an inmate's suicide attempt Sunday night. Richard Santia, of Greensburg, found an inmate hanging himself with a bedsheet in the prison's disciplinary unit about 10 p.m., according to Warden John Walton.

The inmate, whose name was not available, did not lose consciousness and was placed on suicide watch after being examined in the prison infirmary, Walton said. County records indicate Santia has worked at the prison since 1987. Walton said his action Sunday night deserves praise.

"He did a great job. We'll put a commendation in his file," Walton said. "He did his job, and you can see the effects of that."

The most recent suicide at the jail happened in April 2004, when inmate Robert P. Schreckengost, 53, of Latrobe, was found hanged in his cell one day after he had asked to be placed in a drug-and-alcohol treatment program.

In the past two decades, six people have killed themselves at the jail, while two others were pronounced dead at the hospital after officers found them committing suicide. Six of the eight incidents happened after 2001. Some have resulted in lawsuits.

Part of a $900,000 central command system upgrade calls for motion-detection cameras to be installed in suicide-watch cells. However, some inmates, such as John Schott, 37, of North Huntingdon Township, kill themselves outside of the suicide-watch area. Schott committed suicide in 2001.

In April 2003, the suicide of Robert Steadman prompted an internal investigation into why the 33-year-old Sewickley Township man had not been placed on watch. As a result, prison officials tightened standards for risk assessment.