DEATHS IN COUNTY PRISONS – What are they hiding?

Prisoners die before trial. Suicides go without investigation. Counties refuse to share information after Right to Know requests are filed. What is going on?

Delaware County

The Delaware County correctional facility where Patrick Langworthy was found dead has some explaining to do. Everyone remembers the Epstein “suicide” where a sheet was tied to the top bunk. Why were no questions asked when Mr. Langworthy was found unconscious and tied to the bottom bunk? Why was the incident not provided to the district attorney’s criminal investigation division? Read the in depth story by our Broad+Liberty partners here.

Chester County

Between the infamous prison escape of Daniel Cavalcante last summer and suspicious deaths occurring, we have to wonder what’s going on!  Over the past several years there have been several suspicious deaths in the Chester County prison. These are being investigated as part of a UCLA study to identify “discrimination and inequality in vulnerable populations.” However, citing privacy concerns, the county is denying the access to autopsy reports after Right to Know requests were filed. The PA Supreme Court will soon be deciding whether the county’s interpretation of the Coroner’s Act is too restrictive. Read more about the issue here.

Bottom line…

Without access to records, citizens cannot gain the information to hold office holders and county employees accountable for mistakes or bad policy decisions. Counties are routinely hiding information from the public which used to be readily accessible. The tax-paying public has the right to know what’s going on in our counties, whether it’s with our prisons, our senior centers, or our polling places. Because of the lack of transparency and oversight, we all should be asking…what’s going on???