$7M SETTLEMENT
DELCO JAIL ALSO WILL CHANGE POLICIES AFTER WOMAN INMATE TOOK OWN LIFE
PHILADELPHIA » The private company that runs the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Delaware County has settled a civil lawsuit by agreeing to pay $7 million to the family of an Upper Darby woman who committed suicide in 2015, as well as make vast policy changes at the institution, attorneys for the family announced Thursday.
Janene Wallace, 35, committed suicide on May 26, 2015, after being placed in solitary confinement for 52 days at the Concord facility, which at the time was run by the for-profit Community Education Centers (CEC) Inc., where she had been mistreated by guards and denied proper medical attention and supervision, said plaintiff’s attorney David Inscho, of Kline & Specter PC. The facility is now operated by GEO Group Inc.
Media attorney Scott Kramer, who represented Wallace before her death, had once called her the “poster child for mental health rights.”
Wallace had been incarcerated for violating probation on a 2013 conviction of threatening another woman over the phone. She had a history of mental illness, specifically depression, anxiety, and paranoia, according to information released Thursday by Inscho. Despite having no history of violence or documented misbehavior at the prison, guards put Wallace into solitary confinement for 23 hours daily.
She was denied required daily medical checks, a psychological assessment review after 30 days and even forced to go without basic necessities such as blankets, sheets and towels. After a verbal altercation with one guard, witnesses said the guard demeaned Wallace and taunted her and told her to kill herself. Wallace, using a bra strap, hung herself in her cell.
That guard and two others were fired and a fourth was suspended.
In addition to the monetary settlement, the George Hill facility, which was operated by CEC from 2009 until the company was purchased by GEO Group Inc. in 2017, agreed to revise its Suicide Prevention and Restricted Housing policies. Among the changes is a requirement that inmates with serious mental illness not be placed in restrictive housing due to symptoms related to mental illness; and if such a placement is required for security reasons, the inmate must be evaluated by a psychologist within 24 hours to guard against an increased risk of suicide. Also, no prisoner can be placed in restricted housing without approval of a shift supervisor and without a medical evaluation, with medical visits three times daily and a written evaluation by a psychologist within seven days.
Such placements must be approved by the warden within 24 hours, reviewed by a committee every seven days and then again be approved by the warden in writing after 30 days.
“This is a significant result for a family dedicated to obtaining justice for their daughter and seeking to prevent future mistreatment of the mentally ill at George W. Hill Correctional Facility,” said Inscho. “The company that profited from holding Janene in solitary confinement and whose employee taunted her to kill herself were held responsible. Equally as important, the new operator has agreed to make substantial changes that will prevent mentally ill people from being held in these cruel and inhumane conditions.”
“The county of Delaware and the Delaware County Board of Prison Inspectors have been advised that the litigation involving Janene Wallace, which did not involve the prison board or the county of Delaware, has been amicably resolved by the insurance carrier of the previous provider, CEC,” reads a statement from the George W. Hill Correctional Facility.
“However, this case does underscore the challenges caused by people with mental health issues often being funneled into the prison system, due to a lack of available inpatient treatment options,” the statement continued. “Although the circumstances involving Ms. Wallace occurred during the term of the previous provider, CEC, the prison board and the current provider, GEO, will continue their efforts to re-evaluate relevant prison policies and procedures. Since it began the process of its transition, GEO has initiated a review and revision of existing policy and procedure concerning inmate confinement, including medical assessment and intervention.”
In an interview with the Daily Times July 2015, Susanne Wallace said her daughter exhibited signs of a mental disorder that spiraled out of control, alleging she was “abandoned” in a small cell in Delaware County’s prison for 10 weeks before her suicide.
According to her mother, Janene spent nearly three months isolated in the 8-by10-foot cell. She tied her bra around the slats of the vents and was said to have blocked the only window looking into the cell with her mattress. The family believes that proper monitoring and treatment could have saved her life, and said prison personnel lacked the proper training to deal with mental illnesses.
Janene Wallace’s autopsy report, provided by her family, described her as a thin female at 5 feet, 2 inches tall, weighing 97 pounds.
The report also includes a synopsis of prison guards’ accounts of the incident. She was last seen alive at 4:30 a.m. on May 26 during “routine checks.” She was discovered hanging in her cell an hour later, taken down from the vent and CPR was unsuccessfully performed. One of the two air vents was covered with feminine napkins, according to the report. Her mother attributed that to her paranoia, saying Wallace always believed she was being watched.
“I just felt like at George W. Hill she felt she was abandoned,” Susanne Wallace said at the time.
Janene Wallace graduated from Upper Darby High School in 1998. Her mother recalled a normal childhood that included Girl Scouts, sports and friends. But Janene was indecisive about a career path before she enrolled at Bloomsburg University to study design.
“She seemed happy enough in high school,” Susanne Wallace said. But at one point, she told Janene, “You need to figure out what your role is on this earth.” Janene never finished at Bloomsburg and after dropping out, she worked parttime jobs.
“From that moment on it was pretty difficult,” Susanne Wallace said, described her daughter as “resistant” about seeking help. “I think that’s when the depression started. She couldn’t figure out what she wanted to do.”
According to Susanne, Janene had been taking small doses of antidepressant and anxiety medication. She believed her daughter had a more serious mental illness, but she was never diagnosed.
Wallace had a criminal history prior to her June 2013 arrest for terroristic threats. Two arrests occurred in Upper Darby. She was arrested for DUI on Feb. 20, 2011, and was found to be in possession of several knives, authorities said. She was arrested again on Oct. 23, 2012, for threats she made over the phone to the same victim that would later be the target of her terroristic threats in June, 2013. Wallace’s second arrest for death threats resulted in charges of simple assault and terroristic threats. The simple assault charge would later be dismissed.
Before her probation violation in the June 2013 case, Janene Wallace pleaded guilty to charges of terroristic threats with the intent to terrorize another. She was released to an outpatient facility, ordered to have no contact with the victims, and undergo probation supervision and mental evaluations.
“Despite her family’s persistent efforts to attempt to get her access to the psychological care that she desperately needed, she was left with no help from the prison authorities,” Inscho told the Daily Times in 2015.
Through her attorney, Susanne Wallace provided the following statement Thursday evening: “Janene was a wonderful woman with a kind heart. She had an illness and heeded treatment for that illness. By bringing a lawsuit we were able to uncover the horrible mistreatment she received at the privately operated prison. We are also pleased that we were able to obtain policy changes that will help to protect the mentally ill and prevent this tragedy from occurring again. We hope that the county will work to closely oversee the private contractor operating the prison going forward and help treat rather than lock-up people needing mental health care.”
Less than two months after Janene Wallace’s suicide, 46-year-old Richard Dandrea hung himself at the prison, using a rope from a laundry bag. Dandrea, an employee at the Sunoco Refinery in Marcus Hook, also had a history of psychological issues.