Inmate death reported at Centre County Correctional Facility
A Centre County Correctional Facility inmate died by suicide this month, the county’s administrator wrote Wednesday in an email.
Margaret Gray did not identify the inmate, though Sandra “Dee” Wilkins said the inmate was her son, Joseph Klinger. The CCCF followed all protocols, Gray wrote.
“If protocols were followed, then they need to change them because this shouldn’t happen,” Wilkins said. “They are put there to be watched. This should not have been allowed to happen.”
Klinger, of Potters Mills, was transported June 15 from the county jail to Mount Nittany Medical Center. He died June 16 at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Gray wrote.
The Penns Valley Area High School graduate was 32. He was detained at the jail since March on several charges, including one felony count of aggravated assault.
State police at Rockview are investigating his death. Gray did not comment on how many inmates have died at the jail, though it is rare.
In 2014, a 51-year-old man was the first inmate to die in custody at the Benner Township facility, which opened in 2005. He died of natural causes.
Resources:
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
Center for Community Resources: 1-800-643-5432, or visit 2100 E. College Ave.