ST. CLAIR COUNTY, Illinois — After man died by suicide at the St. Clair County Jail Thursday, the sheriff said he and his staff are working to prevent such deaths in the future.
Around 10:15 p.m., a corrections officer who was performing lockdowns in a cell block found a man, 42, unresponsive in his cell. Jail staff tried to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the jail, according to a news release from the sheriff's department.
Earlier that night, the man had returned to his cell alone, the release said. He used a bed sheet to die by suicide. Other jail detainees were in the recreation area of the cell block under supervision, but individual cells were not required to be checked at the time.
"No one wants to see anyone reach a point in their life where they feel suicide is the answer to their problems," St. Clair County Sheriff Richard Watson said in the release. "Our staff makes every effort to assist people in crisis and place them on special watches for their own protection and speak with a counselor. Any time an incident like this occurs we will review our actions and policies to see if anything can be done to prevent this from happening again."
The man had been at the jail for six days on drug and burglary charges. When he was arrested, he was listed as homeless.
An autopsy is pending.
Thursday was World Suicide Prevention Day.
