Sandra Bland, and the national horror of jail suicides

America is finally waking up to a massive problem in the incarceration system

Jail cell
(Image credit: iStock)

The case of Sandra Bland, who apparently committed suicide in jail following a ludicrously unjust traffic stop, has brought the problem of jail suicides into sharp relief. In a welcome change, national media outlets are reporting new cases as they happen — and it turns out there are a whole lot of them.

This is a grim but highly necessary development. Because most people in jail have not been convicted of a crime, jail suicide is one of the worst atrocities in a criminal justice system that is full to bursting with them. And relatively simple reforms might make the situation better for a great number of innocent people.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.