Idaho inmate dies by suicide. He’s the second inmate to take his own life in a week
A 29-year-old Idaho Maximum Security Institution inmate in prison for aggravated assault and eluding a police officer died of an apparent suicide, prison officials reported Sunday. This is the second inmate in Idaho Department of Correction custody to take his own life in the past week.
Jason Boyd Ivey, of Hazelton, was found hanging in his cell at 3:53 p.m. Friday, officials said. He died in a Boise hospital around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, according to IDOC spokesman Jeff Ray.
Ivey was not on suicide watch, according to IDOC.
Court records show that Ivey had a history of serious and persistent mental health issues. He originally pleaded guilty in 2015 to aggravated assault and misdemeanor battery for threatening his mother with a knife and kicking the Jerome County deputies who responded to the scene, according to the Times-News. He was sentenced to two to five years in prison, but the sentence was suspended in lieu of four years of probation.
Ivey was sentenced again in April 2016 for eluding a police officer, but the sentence was suspended in lieu of a rider. Ivey completed the rider and was released on probation in December 2016, according to Ray.
Ivey returned to IDOC custody on June 15, 2017, after violating the terms of his release, Ray said.
IDOC is still investigating Ivey’s death. Officials said they could not discuss the health information of specific inmates but said IDOC takes suicide risk management “very seriously.” Dr. Walker Campbell, IDOC’s chief psychologist, said inmates are screened about suicide during their initial intake to IDOC, then again at every facility transfer or placement into restricted housing.
“For inmates who present with suicide risk, these screens are reviewed by licensed clinicians for clinical determination of mental health needs,” Campbell said in a statement provided to the Statesman. “Those who require mental health care are assigned a ‘level of care,’ which may include placement in one of our specialized mental health housing units, where enhanced care is provided.”
Earlier last week, a 37-year-old man died of an apparent suicide in prison before going to trial on accusations that he repeatedly sexually abused a 10-year-old and had a role in kidnapping a woman — the 10-year-old’s mother — and chaining her in a barn.
Chancey Lee Baker was found hanging at the Idaho State Correctional Institution in Kuna around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.
This story was originally published September 29, 2019 at 5:57 PM.
