Hangings in jail using telephone cords have been described in the literature. Note the telephone cord looped around the neck of this woman who hanged herself in jail. In this scenario, the telephone cord is looped around the neck and the receiver cinched underneath the chin while the person slumps to the ground under the phone. The most important aspect of the autopsy in a jail hanging is to determine whether the autopsy findings are consistent with the scenario. Investigators must rule out other causes of death and ensure that there are no indications of foul play.
Fig.1 Hanging in jail using telephone cord.
Suicide is a threat to all persons involved in corrections. The rates of inmate suicide are far higher than the national averages, and even higher still for special populations (including juvenile and LGBTI inmates), even corrections officers have a much greater occupational suicide rate.
Suicide and heart disease have been the top two causes of death in local jails since 2000. Suicide has been the leading cause of death in jails every year since 2000. In 2013, a third (34%) of jail inmate deaths were due to suicide. The suicide rate increased 14%, from 40 suicides per 100,000 jail inmates in 2012 to 46 per 100,000 in 2013 (Bureau of Justice Statistics/U.S. Department of Justice).
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