RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The Virginia Board of Corrections has placed a jail under closer state supervision after it found facility shortcomings directly or indirectly contributed to the deaths of two inmates.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the board on Tuesday placed the Riverside Regional Jail on "probationary certification" for three years and ordered it to receive unannounced audits. It must also submit quarterly regulation compliance reports.
A summary of the investigation into the 2017 deaths says a 32-year-old inmate was found hanging in his cell just after his arrest on charges including petit larceny. Within a month, another inmate was found dead of an apparent suicide. A board committee said the jail violated inmate supervision and screening regulations.
The Portsmouth City Jail also was placed on probationary certification for a year over two deaths.
