The Bureau of Indian Affairs is investigating a suicide at a jail on the Yakama Nation in Washington.

The inmate, Ricky Owens Sampson, hanged himself in a cell. According to The Seattle Times, he had been left there for at least five hours, maybe longer, because there was only one staffer on duty the night of his death. The jail usually has two people on duty but was short-staffed on June 25.

The jail was ordered earlier this year to stop housing juveniles because they weren't being separated from adults.

Get the Story:
Suicide triggers probe of Yakama tribal detention center (The Seattle Times 8/6)

Inspector General Interim Jail Report:
Text | PDF

Department of Justice Jail Reports:
Year 2002 | Year 2001 | Year 2000 | Years 1998-1999

Related Stories:
Justice bill shifts priorities in Indian Country (8/4)
Jails on Navajo Nation among worst in BIA system (07/08)
Interim Indian Country jail report released (7/2)
Senate panel holds hearing on detention facilities (06/24)
Indian Country jails subject of Senate hearing (06/21)
BIA law enforcement official returns to South Dakota (6/9)
BIA: Law enforcement head offered to be reassigned (06/03)
Top BIA law enforcement official reassigned (6/2)
Funding levels flat in new Interior budget (02/03)
Overcrowding in Indian Country jails the norm (12/02)
Tribes lobbying against 'harmful' appropriations riders (11/10)
Indian Country jails see record growth (09/05)
Indian Country jails see increased numbers (8/13)
Behind Bars: Native incarceration rates increase (7/13)
BIA audit slams Omaha Tribe's police force (5/8)
New study focuses on jails (7/10)