News
Incident has changed prison policy; video captured moment cell went ‘dark’
The following points were taken from the latest court filings in the wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Ryan Francis’ estate by his grandmother, Bonnie Fra
The following points were taken from the latest court filings in the wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of Ryan Francis’ estate by his grandmother, Bonnie Francis.
• Following Ryan Francis’ suicide, Northumberland County Prison (NCP) Warden Ralph Reish did not perform a full internal investigation, instead citing investigations performed by the county coroner’s office, Sunbury police and the independent Klinikowski investigation.
• According to the prison’s 1995 suicide prevention policy, “Assessments should be conducted by a qualified mental health professional who designates the inmate’s level of suicide risk.” However, Lt. James Bruce initially designated Francis as a suicide risk, but said it was subsequently confirmed with both Warden Reish and allegedly Dr. Frederick Maue.
• That same policy states that, in the event of a suicide, there’s to be a three-pronged review by the prison medical department, prison administration and a county mental health representative. Reish said in deposition that he didn’t perform a review, and neither did the medical staff or Maue, although he did cite Maue’s hand-written notes regarding Francis’ suicide that were written on the psychiatric evaluation form in the hours after Francis died.
• Since Francis’ death, Reish said only he or the prison psychiatrist are allowed to place a person on suicide watch or take them off of it.
• The program coordinator for the prison’s Suicide Prevention Program is the deputy warden. In Francis’ case, Reish said he undertook this role since Deputy John Conrad was unavailable, adding he met with Francis on March 7 and March 8. “I observed just a regular inmate. He wasn’t despondent. We had good eye contact. He wasn’t withdrawn. We exchanged some words. I think he even sort of laughed at me.”
• Reish didn’t take Francis off watch, he said, and he wasn’t aware it had been done until after his death when he reviewed a check sheet from March 8. Per prison policy, termination of watch is to be documented in medical records with a copy made to the warden — a copy he said he never received.
•Francis’ being taken off watch was a “technical violation,” Reish said.
• No prison official said they were aware Francis was in NCP in 2005, and that he was a suicide risk then.
• Reish denied Maue or Bruce indicated Francis was a significant suicide risk. Maue, however, contends he did just that during conversation with Bruce on March 7 and Reish a day later. Bruce denies this sentiment was expressed by Maue.
• A video camera records the walkway along prison cells, but isn’t angled to see into a specific cell. The video captures the moment when Francis’ cell went “dark,” as he presumably covered the cell door with a blanket. No one was monitoring the footage at the time. Attorney Wayne Schaible, representing the Francis estate, states 18 minutes lapsed between when the cell went “dark” and when Francis was observed dead. His cell mate was gone and there were no checks, he said.
• Reish said no evidence existed, after Francis’ cell mate was removed, that Francis was a threat, though the prison staff he allegedly spoke with weren’t trained in psychiatry.
• Despite Francis having died, his body was removed from the cell in handcuffs and shackles. This, Reish said, is standard operating procedure to remove any inmate.
• Francis’ next-of-kin, grandmother Bonnie Francis, was first notified of her grandson’s death by a prison guard who had finished work that day, Schaible said. The warden said he called her himself about 1 1/2 hours after Francis’ death.
• Schaible said a state police fire marshal who had ruled Francis out as a suspect in the deadly Trevorton fire was to interview him the day he committed suicide.
• Schaible claims approximately six inmates expressed to corrections officers Francis’ suicidal thoughts.
• Francis’ cell mate, Steven Trump, was on checks himself, every 30 minutes, for medical reasons. Schaible said a security check sheet shows a significant gap for these checks on March 9, with no one having checked his cell between 1:02 a.m. and 3:25 p.m. This is despite the warden claiming Francis’ cell was being checked, even though Francis was mistakenly taken off the 15-minute strict cell checks.
• Reish said Francis was seen by Mary Jo Christiana, a counselor for Mental Health/Mental Retardation, but there was no note on his chart that this meeting took place.
• Maue’s two-hour evaluation with Francis revealed a history of drug abuse, including heroin, marijuana and nicotine.
• Statements allegedly made by Francis to Maue during the evaluation include: “I tend to black out a lot.” “I didn’t threaten anybody.” “They wouldn’t let me be pallbearer.”
• Maue said Francis was having flashbacks of the fire, when he would experience overwhelming anxiety and would blackout. He was the only one from his mother’s apartment, one of several in the building, to have escaped with his life.
• Francis had no appetite, couldn’t sleep at night, was restless and paced a lot, and experienced feelings of shame, survivor guilt and self-deprecation.
• Psychiatric evaluation said Francis had multiple past suicide attempts.
• Maue arranged for Francis to speak with his grandfather: “I thought if I allowed him to talk to his grandfather, who was one of his only remaining relatives, that it might help him feel better.”
• Reish denied Maue ever told him Francis shouldn’t be in jail in the first place and that he should be in a mental hospital. He also denied that he was seeking to place Francis at Warren State Hospital.
• Maue said he wished to have Francis committed to an inpatient mental health facility, voluntarily or involuntarily. However, he said he couldn’t get him into Sunbury Community Hospital because of the pending charges against Francis from the disturbance at his girlfriend’s funeral.
As for the Klinikowski report, sealed by order of U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III on June 6, 2007, Reish said he was never asked to sign off on the report, or acknowledge it. He said in his deposition that he would make several changes to items he believed were inaccurate.
— By Eric Scicchitano
• Following Ryan Francis’ suicide, Northumberland County Prison (NCP) Warden Ralph Reish did not perform a full internal investigation, instead citing investigations performed by the county coroner’s office, Sunbury police and the independent Klinikowski investigation.
• According to the prison’s 1995 suicide prevention policy, “Assessments should be conducted by a qualified mental health professional who designates the inmate’s level of suicide risk.” However, Lt. James Bruce initially designated Francis as a suicide risk, but said it was subsequently confirmed with both Warden Reish and allegedly Dr. Frederick Maue.
• That same policy states that, in the event of a suicide, there’s to be a three-pronged review by the prison medical department, prison administration and a county mental health representative. Reish said in deposition that he didn’t perform a review, and neither did the medical staff or Maue, although he did cite Maue’s hand-written notes regarding Francis’ suicide that were written on the psychiatric evaluation form in the hours after Francis died.
• Since Francis’ death, Reish said only he or the prison psychiatrist are allowed to place a person on suicide watch or take them off of it.
• The program coordinator for the prison’s Suicide Prevention Program is the deputy warden. In Francis’ case, Reish said he undertook this role since Deputy John Conrad was unavailable, adding he met with Francis on March 7 and March 8. “I observed just a regular inmate. He wasn’t despondent. We had good eye contact. He wasn’t withdrawn. We exchanged some words. I think he even sort of laughed at me.”
• Reish didn’t take Francis off watch, he said, and he wasn’t aware it had been done until after his death when he reviewed a check sheet from March 8. Per prison policy, termination of watch is to be documented in medical records with a copy made to the warden — a copy he said he never received.
•Francis’ being taken off watch was a “technical violation,” Reish said.
• No prison official said they were aware Francis was in NCP in 2005, and that he was a suicide risk then.
• Reish denied Maue or Bruce indicated Francis was a significant suicide risk. Maue, however, contends he did just that during conversation with Bruce on March 7 and Reish a day later. Bruce denies this sentiment was expressed by Maue.
• A video camera records the walkway along prison cells, but isn’t angled to see into a specific cell. The video captures the moment when Francis’ cell went “dark,” as he presumably covered the cell door with a blanket. No one was monitoring the footage at the time. Attorney Wayne Schaible, representing the Francis estate, states 18 minutes lapsed between when the cell went “dark” and when Francis was observed dead. His cell mate was gone and there were no checks, he said.
• Reish said no evidence existed, after Francis’ cell mate was removed, that Francis was a threat, though the prison staff he allegedly spoke with weren’t trained in psychiatry.
• Despite Francis having died, his body was removed from the cell in handcuffs and shackles. This, Reish said, is standard operating procedure to remove any inmate.
• Francis’ next-of-kin, grandmother Bonnie Francis, was first notified of her grandson’s death by a prison guard who had finished work that day, Schaible said. The warden said he called her himself about 1 1/2 hours after Francis’ death.
• Schaible said a state police fire marshal who had ruled Francis out as a suspect in the deadly Trevorton fire was to interview him the day he committed suicide.
• Schaible claims approximately six inmates expressed to corrections officers Francis’ suicidal thoughts.
• Francis’ cell mate, Steven Trump, was on checks himself, every 30 minutes, for medical reasons. Schaible said a security check sheet shows a significant gap for these checks on March 9, with no one having checked his cell between 1:02 a.m. and 3:25 p.m. This is despite the warden claiming Francis’ cell was being checked, even though Francis was mistakenly taken off the 15-minute strict cell checks.
• Reish said Francis was seen by Mary Jo Christiana, a counselor for Mental Health/Mental Retardation, but there was no note on his chart that this meeting took place.
• Maue’s two-hour evaluation with Francis revealed a history of drug abuse, including heroin, marijuana and nicotine.
• Statements allegedly made by Francis to Maue during the evaluation include: “I tend to black out a lot.” “I didn’t threaten anybody.” “They wouldn’t let me be pallbearer.”
• Maue said Francis was having flashbacks of the fire, when he would experience overwhelming anxiety and would blackout. He was the only one from his mother’s apartment, one of several in the building, to have escaped with his life.
• Francis had no appetite, couldn’t sleep at night, was restless and paced a lot, and experienced feelings of shame, survivor guilt and self-deprecation.
• Psychiatric evaluation said Francis had multiple past suicide attempts.
• Maue arranged for Francis to speak with his grandfather: “I thought if I allowed him to talk to his grandfather, who was one of his only remaining relatives, that it might help him feel better.”
• Reish denied Maue ever told him Francis shouldn’t be in jail in the first place and that he should be in a mental hospital. He also denied that he was seeking to place Francis at Warren State Hospital.
• Maue said he wished to have Francis committed to an inpatient mental health facility, voluntarily or involuntarily. However, he said he couldn’t get him into Sunbury Community Hospital because of the pending charges against Francis from the disturbance at his girlfriend’s funeral.
As for the Klinikowski report, sealed by order of U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III on June 6, 2007, Reish said he was never asked to sign off on the report, or acknowledge it. He said in his deposition that he would make several changes to items he believed were inaccurate.
— By Eric Scicchitano
Copyright © 2009 - The News-Item