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| Inmate found dead in county Penn. prison cell |
| By Scranton Times Tribune |
| Published: 10/10/2003 |
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A 49-year-old woman jailed on drug charges was found dead in an observation cell at the Lackawanna County, Penn. Prison last Monday. The cause of her death was unknown. Rosemary Dodge, of Throop, was lying on a mattress on the floor of her cell when a prison nurse found her unresponsive at midnight, prison reports said. The staff called for an ambulance and tried to revive the woman, but she was pronounced dead in the prison's Bravo unit at 12:15 a.m. Interim Warden James T. Wynder said Scranton police and county Coroner Joseph Brennan were immediately called. Ms. Dodge had no visible injuries, Mr. Brennan said. An autopsy performed later was inconclusive. Finding the cause and manner of the inmate's death now depends on toxicology tests, the coroner explained. It could take weeks to get the results. Ms. Dodge was alive and stable as late as 10 p.m. Sunday, when the nurse visited to check her vital signs, prison reports said. The inmate's death comes at a difficult time for the prison. The state attorney general's office and Department of Corrections are both conducting investigations of alleged misconduct at the jail. Charges of drug dealing, illicit sex, misuse of inmate labor and guards beating inmates have all surfaced during statewide grand jury proceedings ordered by the attorney general. Amid the controversy, county officials fired former Warden Thomas P. Gilhooley, who admitted misconduct of his own, in July. Mr. Wynder, a veteran of the state prison system, came to the Lackawanna jail Aug. 14. He is on indefinite loan from the state. Booked Sept. 21, Ms. Dodge had been under 24-hour observation in the special cell since Friday. The warden refused to say why until the investigation is complete, but did say Ms. Dodge's behavior had become erratic in recent days. Observation cells, also known as camera cells, are spare -- with a bed, mattress, sink and toilet, the warden said. Inmates kept there may be suicidal or emotionally disturbed. They are only allowed to have the clothes they are wearing. A video camera mounted on the ceiling allows the corrections staff to watch the room. Two officers are assigned to the observation area of the Bravo unit at all times. One makes rounds; the other keeps an eye on the cell monitor. Throop police arrested Ms. Dodge on Sept. 20 when an officer found her trying to light a crack pipe in her car along Oleckna Street, court records show. She had a packet of crack cocaine stashed under her shirt, police said. Charged with misdemeanor drug offenses, Ms. Dodge was being held at the prison for lack of $5,000 cash bail. |
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