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| Calif. Inmate, 17, Hanged Self, Officials Say |
| By Los Angeles Times |
| Published: 07/14/2003 |
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A California teenager serving a three-year term for robbery at the state prison in Tehachapi hanged himself in his cell last week, prompting new concerns about the placement of young criminals in adult lockups. Francis Ray, 17, was found dead early July 1 during a routine check, prison officials said. Sent to Tehachapi late last year, he had been in an isolation cell for disciplinary reasons since February, deprived of normal privileges such as television, a radio and access to education and other programs, a prison spokesman said. Ray, who used his bedsheets to hang himself, had not been on suicide watch, authorities said. But they would not comment further on his condition or why he was housed alone and in an isolation unit. Checked, as scheduled, by staff about 90 minutes before he was discovered dead, Ray had not exhibited unusual behavior, said Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for the state Department of Corrections. 'Any suicide is regrettable,' he added. He declined to say whether Ray had attempted suicide before or was on medication, citing the confidentiality of inmate medical records. State Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), who has asked corrections officials for a report on the case, said Ray had been diagnosed with mental problems and should have been under heightened supervision. She called the case tragic and said it raised questions about whether the department 'is adequately grappling with mental health problems of inmates, especially juveniles.' Romero, chairwoman of a prison oversight committee, plans to address the case at a hearing later this summer on conditions for juveniles in the Los Angeles County Men's Central Jail. The death marked the first suicide of a minor in adult prison since young offenders were grouped at Tehachapi, in Kern County, after passage of Proposition 21. The 2000 voter initiative opened more avenues for sending young criminals into adult prison, reflecting a hardening of public attitudes toward violence-prone youths. Ray was one of 136 juveniles serving time in Tehachapi's Young Offender Program, which houses youths separately from adult convicts. Statistics from late May show that, of that group, 27 were convicted of murder, 54 of robbery, 31 of assault with a deadly weapon, and the rest of sex crimes and other felonies. Advocates for young offenders said they were disturbed to hear that Ray's crime - second-degree robbery - and relatively short sentence had landed him at Tehachapi, and they questioned whether an adult prison was the best place for him. Ray's probation report made no reference to a prior criminal record, according to the prosecutor on the case, and his only known relative was his mother, who is a parolee at large. |
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