Latest news with #DeathCounty
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Yahoo
‘Death County, PA' Episode 5: The lights go out at the jail where inmates keep dying
SUBSCRIBE AND LISTEN: Wondery|Apple Podcasts|Spotify|Other podcast platforms The bottom floor of Dauphin County Prison is where inmates are sent to be punished. And it was getting out of control down there. Smoke was everywhere. Inmates were smoking synthetic marijuana at all hours of the day. Prison leaders tried to stop it. The jail took away the inmates' Ipads, legal papers and even some of their clothing. But the smoke kept filling the cells. Some staff said the drugs were being smuggled in by other employees. The jail's leaders did something shocking even to the people who knew about how many people had recently died in the jail: They turned off the lights and heat to the entire floor. And kept it off for 17 days. In episode 5 of 'Death County, PA,' we learn why. Jail leaders believed that prisoners were using the outlets and light sockets to light up. But this crackdown came in the cold days of December in central Pennsylvania. 'What do you do? You sit there in your head all day,' said one inmate. 'Now you tell me: is that good for somebody that's already mentally distressed? It can't be. I think they were just using it as a tool to make us suffer, 'cause they couldn't control the contraband in their jail, so we suffer for it.' This wasn't the last time the power would go out at the jail. And when it happened again—something surprising happened. In episode five, local leaders start to bring change to the prison where 19 people have died, many under suspicious circumstances, between 2019 and 2024. 'Death County, PA' is co-produced by PennLive and Wondery and hit the top of Apple's podcast charts two days after it was widely released. A new episode is being released every week. Wondery has developed a number of award-winning, long-form podcast series, some of which have gone on to be produced into TV series. Wondery created the series in collaboration with PennLive, a news site run by Advance Local, one of the largest media groups in the United States, operating in 20 cities. How much do Pa.'s top-paid state government workers make? Search our database Pa.'s $200K Club: Who are the best-paid state government workers? See the Top 10 Who made the most working for Pennsylvania in 2024? Meet the $200,000 Club Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Hypothermia hits prisoner in unheated cell in 3rd episode of ‘Death County, PA'
It isn't just violent confrontations that may have led to people dying at the Dauphin County Prison. It's also the temperature. And decisions made by prison staff about medical treatment. That's according to the third episode of the podcast 'Death County, Pa.', which was released on Monday and that tells the story of a years-long PennLive investigation into why so many prisoners at the Pennsylvania jail have passed away in recent years. The third episode of the podcast, which was produced by Wondery in collaboration with PennLive, was released today on Apple, Spotify and wherever podcasts are available. New episodes are being released each Monday, and all six episodes are available to subscribers of Wondery Plus. Narrated by PennLive Investigative Reporter Joshua Vaughn, the podcast rose to the top spot on Apple's list of top podcast series two days after it was released. The third episode delves into how Jamal Crummel, a man who suffered from mental health challenges, endured bitterly cold conditions in a prison cell that didn't have heat. His core body temperature dropped below 90 degrees and his skin was so damaged from the cold that a guard said it peeled off like tissue paper. He was hospitalized with severe hypothermia for more than a month. Prison authorities decided not to transfer Crummel to a specialized medical unit in Pittsburgh — which would cost additional time and resources — and treated him at a local hospital instead. After his condition improved, Crummel was returned to the same cellblock where he suffered the condition in the first place. The third episode explores who Crummel was and what happened to him after he was brought back to the jail. The first two episodes of 'Death County, Pa.' focused on the deaths of two other prisoners who died under suspicious circumstances. Wondery has developed a number of award-winning, long-form podcast series, some of which have gone on to be produced into TV series. PennLive is a news site run by Advance Local, one of the largest media groups in the United States, operating in 20 cities. PennLive podcast on Dauphin County jail deaths tops Apple charts 'If they're lying about one, how do we know they're not lying about all of them?' Early episodes of national podcast focus on 2 deaths at Dauphin County Prison Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Yahoo
New podcast ‘Death County, PA' delves into mysterious deaths in a county jail
At the center of each episode of the new podcast, 'Death County, PA,' is a dead body. In episode one, Ty'Rique Riley, 21. In episode two, Ishmail Thompson, 29. Both entered Dauphin County prison in Pennsylvania relatively healthy but left in critical condition before dying in nearby hospitals. Local authorities said their deaths were the result of medical incidents or that it wasn't clear how they died. But why, then, did Riley's body have so much bruising? Why was he missing teeth? Was it possible that Thompson really did just stop breathing on his own — unrelated to the pepper spray in his face and bag over his head? PennLive reporter Josh Vaughn spent years looking into these and other dead bodies that piled up at the notorious Dauphin County Prison. He narrates all six episodes of 'Death County, PA,' which was produced by Wondery in partnership with PennLive. The first two episodes are available starting today on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts. A new episode will be released each week. N'Jeri Eaton, an executive producer at Wondery, said she was 'blown away by the level of Josh's dedication' to covering the prison when they met in 2023. Eaton knew that the treatment of prisoners had become a big story across the country. And Vaughn had amassed enough material to produce several podcasts, Eaton said, with compelling accounts of what it was like inside the prison from prisoners, workers and family members. Over the next year-and-a-half, Vaughn worked with Wondery to expand and refine this sprawling story into a digestible, compelling narrative for listeners. The story began when Vaughn discovered something unusual in a prison record. He'd spent years reporting on criminal justice issues in Pennsylvania but, he said, none of that prepared him for what he learned after stumbling upon the unusual and shocking circumstances of Thompson's death. The man had been given a clean bill of health but died after prison officials 'pepper sprayed him in the face, secured a spit hood over his head and forcefully locked him into a restraint chair.' At the time, county officials released a statement saying they found 'no evidence of physical assault' and declared that the man had died from a health complication. The disjunction between what county officials were saying and what was spelled out in the prison's 'use of force' report set off red flags for Vaughn. Activists had already begun drawing attention to the number of deaths at the prison — 22 between 2019 and 2024. 'If this one death was such a problem, clearly we need to be digging into others,' Vaughn said. 'Because if they're lying about one, how do we know they're not lying about all of them?' Wondery's producers wanted to find a way to tell the story of the 'shocking' number deaths in a way that would help listeners feel the impact. So the podcast is told largely through the eyes of Lamont Jones, a Harrisburg city councilor whose cousin died at the prison and who had made it his mission to bring about change. In the first two episodes Vaughn speaks with a series of concerned family members like Jones. As they try to get answers, they have to contend with the larger-than-life county coroner, Graham Hetrick, a man whose bow-tie and reality TV-show persona give cover to prison authorities. It's the broader implications of what Vaughn uncovered at the jail in Dauphin County that the producers at Wondery thought would make the story meaningful for listeners across the country. 'How we treat the most marginalized populations says a lot about who we are as a country and what we value,' said Eaton, the executive producer at Wondery. PennLive, which like this site is part of parent company Advance Local, partnered with Wondery to produce the podcast. Advance Local is one of the largest media groups in the United States, operating in 20 cities. Wondery has developed a number of award-winning, long-form podcast series, some of which have gone on to be produced into TV series. Read the original article on MassLive.
