SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Officials came to the defense of the Santa Fe County jail in the wake of an apparent suicide by a jailed man accused of torturing and killing a child.
County Communication Coordinator Kristine Mihelcic said Monday in a release that staff at the facility addresses mental health issues and suicide prevention as it oversees the approximately 8,000 inmates who pass through the facility each year.
But officials conceded in the release that the staff’s efforts do not guarantee inmates will not try to harm themselves.
“Despite the best of intentions and practices with respect to suicide prevention, occasionally an individual who decides to self-harm within a detention and correctional facility will commit self-harm,” Mihelcic said.
The release came just hours after the attorney for Thomas Wayne Ferguson said officials need to investigate the death and hold jail personnel accountable if necessary.
Ferguson was found dead Friday night in his cell after apparently hanging himself with a sheet, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported . Ferguson was awaiting trial on a first-degree murder charge in the torture and beating death of 13-year-old Jeremiah Valencia, the son of Ferguson’s girlfriend, Tracy Ann Pena.
“The jail has a responsibility to all inmates to ensure that they are safe, regardless of what they are charged with,” said Michael Jones, who represented Ferguson.
“I hope that the authorities do an investigation and all the proper protocols were followed,” Jones said. “And if they weren’t, that needs to be made public.”
Ferguson had pleaded not guilty to 17 felony counts and one misdemeanor charge in the case.
County officials have not yet addressed the jail’s suicide-watch procedures or whether Ferguson had undergone a suicide screening. Ferguson, who was arrested in January and had a prior suicide attempt, according to court records, had not been placed on a suicide watch and did not have a cellmate, Mihelcic said Saturday.
Santa Fe County jail Warden Derek Williams did not return a call Monday seeking comment.
Ferguson’s death came shortly before he was set to be transferred to a state-run prison to serve a nearly six-year sentence in a separate case.
County sheriff’s officials said Tuesday that deputies who searched Ferguson’s cell after his death found a letter addressed to an unknown person.
They said Ferguson “professed his innocence” in Valenica’s killing and also “expressed distain for law enforcement and the judicial system” in the letter.
“I remain confident that Ferguson was involved in Jeremiah’s death and our agency continues to investigate the homicide case,” Sheriff Robert Garcia said in a statement.
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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.santafenewmexican.com
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