South Jersey Jail Suicides Are at an All-Time High

Atlantic and Cumberland County jails are both now at six suicides since 2015.

NJ.com reports that the families of the victims are concerned that the mental health of their family members whilst in custody were not a priority, thereby resulting in the suicides.

Conrad Benedetto, legal representation for the family of victim Laura Semprevivo who was serving time in Atlantic County jail at the time of her suicide, has stated that these deaths provide sufficient evidence supporting a public health crisis in South Jersey's legal system. He's quoted saying that the hope of all the families involved in the lawsuits against the counties is that the focus on mental health in the various NJ county judicial systems will re-surge so that no more families will have to deal with this pain again.

Benedetto's comments in the article highlight the families' grief knowing that death whilst incarcerated should've been preventable.

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Source: NJ.com