You know, when it comes to Sandra Bland, even if it were a suicide, which I doubt...

[Humanist_Activist]

its still the Sheriff Office's fault. She was in their custody, they are, at that point, in total control over her safety, healthy and life. Why can't the people in charge of jails be held responsible for, at the very least, negligence when it comes to situations like this? I mean, for fuck's sake, they should have someone training cameras on the cells 24/7, should they not? And eyeballs to watch the inmates. This isn't a huge prison we are talking about, but a county jail, a temporary holding area to determine what happens next. At the very least, have someone doing rounds to check on inmates, I mean, what the fuck?

[Downwinder]

1. If it was suicide, she was driven to it. It is still murder.

[Humanist_Activist]

2. That's very hard to prove in court, I would say, at the very least, its negligent homicide.

And completely unacceptable.

The police in this country are fucking out of control.

[Downwinder]

3. I have been there.

It may be hard to prove, but easy to accomplish.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

17. Maybe not murder in the first degree, but, certainly reckless homicide.

[beforeiknewbetter]

4. The only way they could be held responsible if she was on a suicide watch

I know they do have this type of watch in every jail .
If the jail is too small to support this type of watch then the person is shipped
out to a facility that is ready to house them. They have the doctors and staff
to take on such a inmate.

Unless she said she was going to kill her self to the jailers it's hard to hold them accountable
for anyone who kills them selves in a cell.

[Humanist_Activist]

5. She was in their custody, ultimately they are responsible for her health and safety...

if there was no way this could be prevented, prove it, but apparently they had no means of observing her and they did not do routine checks on inmates in custody. That's unacceptable.

[beforeiknewbetter]

9. I don't understand what you want me to prove?

There are probably at least 700,000 inmates right now as we speak
housed in a cell in the U.S who if they decided to kill themselves in a cell they could.

[damnedifIknow]

6. Why was she arrested in the first place?

For failing to put out a cigarette?

[COLGATE4]

8. Resisting arrest. nt

[handmade34]

18. arrested for

"resisting arrest" hmmmm

[COLGATE4]

19. don't forget assaulting an Officer. nt

[PoliticAverse]

13. She was apparently charged with "assaulting a public servant". n/t

[mythology]

7. Obviously they shouldn't have cameras in cells

Do you really want cameras watching inmates going to the bathroom, changing clothes or engaging in (consenting) sexual activities?

[Humanist_Activist]

11. Have you seen jail cells? There is no expectation of privacy, some have private bathrooms that...

are partitioned off, many don't, and many cells are multi-person cells, you get to take your shit in front of a crowd. However, a suitable compromise would be requiring officers in the jail to do rounds every 15 to thirty minutes to make sure inmates are both secure and safe rather than have cameras in there.

[Downwinder]

14. Lets take it further.

She was not in General Population she was in Segregation. As a dangerous prisoner there should not have been anything in that cell which could be used in any way as a weapon. That includes a plastic bag.

[Humanist_Activist]

15. You do bring up a good point. n/t

[beforeiknewbetter]

16. There is no GP in a jail , this was just a holding cell until they

can process and transport her to a prison until she makes bail.
If she said she was suicidal to the jailers she should not have been housed there for more than a day.

What should have happened is she is stripped of all clothes and her shoes. She is then given a paper gown
to wear and placed in a cell that is designed for a suicidal inmate. In extreme cases they have staff
placed outside the cell 24 hours a day. In other cases it's a 15 minute watch.
In very extreme cases the inmate is strapped down until a doctor can examine .

[Lee-Lee]

10. They certainly are culpable in some form

She admitted on the intake form she had a recent history of attempted suicide.

They left her in a cell with materials she could hurt herself with and without adequate supervision.

It boggles my mind a jail had individual garbage bags in cells. Way too much potential for misuse in many forms. Use a plastic bin only and have inmates wash them out when they are dirty inside.

[beforeiknewbetter]

12. If that is the case they are responsible