Saturday, January 23, 1999
Prison suicide remains mystery after 2nd probe
BY MICHAEL D. CLARK
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON — The events surrounding the prison hanging death of a 19-year-old Evanston man are unusual and will never be fully known, state prison officials said Friday.
A report released by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRC) on the Aug. 30 death of Hakim Williams describes the circumstances of the suicide of the first-time prisoner as “remarkable.”
Mr. Williams had fewer than 90 days before the end of his one-year prison term in the Lebanon Correctional Institution (LCI) when he hanged himself in his solitary confinement cell.
“He had no history of mental health problems or suicide attempts,” according to the ODRC report. “He was a young person serving a short prison term. He demonstrated no readily apparent signs of any intent to harm himself. There was no suicide note.
“What may have motivated Williams' suicide will never be known,” the report states.
LCI officials said Friday the ODRC report, and a state highway patrol report last month, closes their investigation into Mr. Williams' death.
Parents not satisfied
But the parents of the former Seven Hills School student said they blame prison guards and officials for their son's death.
Mr. Williams' mother, Alivee, has adamantly maintained that her son showed no signs of depression and that he was eagerly looking forward to ending his 12-month sentence and enrolling in college.
Louis Williams, father of the inmate, said the latest report leaves him “disappointed more than anything.”
Both said they are considering filing a lawsuit over their
son's death.
The ODRC report investigated claims by Mrs. Williams and inmates who wrote unsolicited letters to The Enquirer that her son was denied mental health counseling and was taunted by guards to carry out threats to kill himself.
Interviews examined
“The weight of the information gathered from interviews with staff and inmates supports the conclusion that no staff member said anything that could be construed as encouragement for Williams to harm himself,” the report states.
Moreover, state investigators wrote that LCI guards acted appro priately in responding to Mr. Williams' requests for counseling. They sought multiple assurances from the prisoner that he was not suicidal and then properly recorded his request and scheduled a psychiatrist visit as soon as possible.
A separate Ohio State Highway Patrol report released last month came to the same conclusions. It also did not offer reasons to explain Mr. Williams' suicide.
But Friday's ODRC report did note that there were claims from some inmates in the same cell block that other inmates, not prison guards, had urged Mr. Williams to kill himself.
The ODRC report also includes information that might indicate Mr. Williams' mood in the days before his suicide.
Writing on the wall
According to LCI records cited in the report, Mr. Williams refused to leave his cell for exercise.
When guards rushed to Mr. Williams' cell the morning of Aug. 30 they found the “short-timer” hanging by a cord from his cell's heating vent.
On the wall of his cell in block letters were written words “MAILMAN,” “ABC,” “MENTAL HEALTH CARE” and near the cell door “THE END.”
Mr. Williams was the second person to die in a Tristate jail cell in 1998.
In late June, a 68-year-old Covington man with diabetes, James Franklin, died while in the Kenton County Jail. Unsolicited letters from fellow inmates accused jail officials there of ignoring medical warnings that could have saved the man's life.
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