Woman's suicide leads to $7 million settlement with private prison company
David Inscho
The recent settlement capped a case that began with a descent into depression and paranoia in Janene Wallace's late twenties and eventually resulted in imprisonment  a nearly three-month stint in solitary confinement and finally  a death by hanging   family attorney David Inscho  said.
At the time of  her  suicide  the George W. Hill Correctional Facility was run by private prison operator Community Education Centers but the company was recently acquired by another prison operator called The GEO Group. Pablo Paez  a representative for The GEO group  declined to comment on the litigation but said that "GEO was in no way involved with the management of the facility at the time of these allegations."
Wallace then refused to bathe  made irrational statements  rubbed menstrual blood on a shower wall and accused the guards of trying to hurt her  according to emails between officials at the facility that were provided by  Inscho . She was placed in solitary confinement and a sign was put on her door that warned that she was "unstable" and instructed staffers to "use caution."
"What she needed was a mental health evaluation and mental health treatment. That never happened "  Inscho  said. "She was mentally ill. She needed help."
After more than 50 days in solitary  which included a guard telling her to "go ahead and choke yourself" following a threat from Wallace that  Inscho  said was made after a period of 85 hours of uninterrupted confinement  she hung herself from a vent with her bra.
David Byrne  warden of the Hill facility  did not immediately respond to a voicemail seeking comment about Wallace's death. But  according to a transcript of a deposition provided by  Inscho   he has admitted that something went wrong.
The recent settlement capped a case that began with a descent into depression and paranoia in Janene Wallace's late twenties and eventually resulted in imprisonment  a nearly three-month stint in solitary confinement and finally  a death by hanging   family attorney David Inscho  said.
At the time of  her  suicide  the George W. Hill Correctional Facility was run by private prison operator Community Education Centers but the company was recently acquired by another prison operator called The GEO Group. Pablo Paez  a representative for The GEO group  declined to comment on the litigation but said that "GEO was in no way involved with the management of the facility at the time of these allegations."
Wallace then refused to bathe  made irrational statements  rubbed menstrual blood on a shower wall and accused the guards of trying to hurt her  according to emails between officials at the facility that were provided by [TGT] . She was placed in solitary confinement and a sign was put on her door that warned that she was "unstable" and instructed staffers to "use caution."
"What she needed was a mental health evaluation and mental health treatment. That never happened "  [TGT]said. "She was mentally ill. She needed help."
After more than 50 days in solitary  which included a guard telling her to "go ahead and choke yourself" following a threat from Wallace that  [TGT]said was made after a period of 85 hours of uninterrupted confinement  she hung herself from a vent with her bra.
David Byrne  warden of the Hill facility  did not immediately respond to a voicemail seeking comment about Wallace's death. But  according to a transcript of a deposition provided by  [TGT][TGT] has admitted that something went wrong.