60° M/CLOUDY, Man hangs himself at New Hanover County jail, officials say
Last Modified: Sunday, September 7, 2008 at 9:30 p.m.
A 37-year-old man being held at New Hanover County jail hanged himself Sunday afternoon, officials said.
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Detention officers found Christopher Samuel Dixon dead in his cell about 1 p.m. during routine cell checks, said Chief Deputy Ed McMahon of the New Hanover County Sheriff's Office.
Dixon had been held at the county jail since the beginning of the month on probation violation charges and for communicating threats, McMahon said. He was being held in a single-person cell in a pod that can hold about 60 to 65 inmates.
McMahon said Dixon was not on suicide watch.
Sheriff's officials have notified Dixon's family members in Wilmington and were attempting to contact other relatives in Ohio Sunday afternoon.
An initial investigation by the Sheriff's Office found that Dixon had hanged himself, but the State Bureau of Investigations will be called in to review the incident and jailer's procedures, McMahon said.
"The safety of our inmates is our upmost concern," McMahon said. "That's why the SBI has been called in to investigate the inmate's death. It's normal procedure."
He said detention officers are required to check inmates' cells four times each hour to help prevent incidents like these.
McMahon said inmate suicides are rare, despite Dixon being the second inmate to commit suicide at the jail this year. A man being held in a special housing unit of jail hanged himself with a bedsheet in March.
First Sgt. Tim Fuss, spokesman for the sheriff's office, said he doesn't know how long it will take the SBI to complete its investigation.
Tyra M. Vaughn: 343-2070
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Comments
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September 7, 2008 10:35:53 pm
RE: Link
Life is cheap today
September 8, 2008 4:35:03 am
The jail already has two deaths so far this year. The entire state has something like 8 per year. LinkHow this over crowded jail still can allow such privacy that one can tie a bedsheet around ones neck and hang from something without someone else noticing and preventing it.
Funny how this stuff always happens to Sheriff Sid Causey and his gang of four.
Funny how no one gives a crap.
Dead man walking
September 8, 2008 8:13:32 am
My guess is that he would hold someone accountable for negligence. My guess is that he would head up the legal team that would sue the mess out of the county for failing in their duty to protect inmates from harm.25% of all jail deaths in the State happened right here in our "state of the art" facility.
If this guy had the time to hang himself unnoticed and flop around on the floor for 4 or 5 minutes while his involuntary reflexed took over he would have had time to choke and kill someone else.Think of that the next time someone you know is in jail for DWI.
One out of every four suicides committed in a NC jail happens right here in New Hanover County.
September 8, 2008 10:10:12 am
i also wanted to add that maybe the jail should consider checking on the inmates at loser intervals than 4 times a hour or possibly have cameras pointing inward on all cells with extra people on security watching them
September 8, 2008 1:46:40 pm
While I do think it's a shame that this man felt suicide was his only way out, it is not the jails fault. Checking on inmates every 15 minutes is acceptable in my opinion. As far as cameras, I think inmates would cry that their privacy was being invaded if they were under constant surveillance and they would also complain their human rights were being violated if the jails were to remove all sheets, blankets etc. I feel bad for this man's family but if this is what he intended to do then no one could stop him unless he asked for help.
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