Ohio fires 3 prison guards over inmate suicide

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

The Ohio prisons system has fired three prison guards after an investigation into an inmate’s suicide, saying the guards failed to conduct proper prisoner checks.

An investigation by the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction released Friday says inmate Bobby Joe Clark had been dead as many as four hours before he was discovered.

Prisons spokeswoman JoEllen Smith says no more than 30 minutes should have passed between checks on Clark if the checks were conducted properly.

The investigation says the 48-year-old Clark was found hanged with a sheet around his neck on Feb. 11 at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville.