'Suicide Cluster' At Graterford As 5th Death Of 2018 Reported

GRATERFORD, PA — The death tolls keeps piling at Graterford, as officials described a "suicide cluster" following 2018's fifth death yesterday.

Ronald Alston, 58, was found hanging in his cell and unresponsive at about 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, March 28, prison officials said.

Prison staff provided life-saving measures, but Alston was pronounced dead at 6:06 a.m. Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the incident, as they do with all inmate deaths.

Alston, who had been serving a life sentence for first degree murder in Bucks County, is the fifth Graterford inmate to die since January.

"Obviously, when we have a suicide cluster, it's a major concern, Corrections Secretary John Wetzel said in a statement.

Wetzel said that the prison had contracted Lindsay Hayes, a national expert on jail suicide prevention, to lead a full review of the prison's "policy, procedures, and practices." Hayes works with the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives' Jail Suicide Prevention and Liability Reduction Program.

"We are committed to make whatever adjustments necessary," Wetzel added.

The prison will also undertake a full review of each suicide.

Four other recent deaths in the prison are also under investigation. On Jan. 30, it was announced that 68-year-old inmate Arthur Phillips was found dead in his Graterford cell. Phillips had been serving a 10-to-20 year sentence for involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a person under 16. On Feb. 14, Christian Gilchrist, 31, was found dead in his cell. He had been serving a five to 15 year sentence for aggravated assault. On Saturday, Feb. 17, Isaac DeJesus, 37, who was serving a three to six year sentence for assaulting juveniles in Philadelphia, was found dead. And on March 3, Jose Rivera, who was serving a five to ten year sentence for assault in Philadelphia, was found dead.

Patch file photo