Inmate suicide lawsuit proceeds

Beckwith family sues PrimeCare Medical, county over death

A civil rights lawsuit focusing on the suicide death of an inmate in the Blair County Prison that occurred nearly five years ago will be allowed to move forward, according to a decision Friday by a federal judge in Johnstown.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines rejected motions filed by Blair County and by PrimeCare Medical Inc., of Harrisburg, to dismiss the lawsuit.

Blair County is being sued as the overseer of its prison board, and as the employer of two former prison officials named in the lawsuit.

PrimeCare is a defendant in the lawsuit because it provides inmate medical services.

The lawsuit was filed by Deborah Beckwith of Altoona, the grandmother of inmate Samantha Beckwith, who was 23 years old when she was found unresponsive in her cell on Oct. 24, 2016.

PrimeCare, according to the lawsuit, was "deliberately indifferent" to Samantha Beckwith's mental health needs.

The lawsuit, filed by Pittsburgh attorneys George M. Kontos and Katie A. Killion, contends that Samantha Beckwith had been an inmate in the county prison many times and that prison officials and PrimeCare were well aware of her mental health condition, which included past attempts at suicide.

The Beckwith legal brief also reported that Samantha Beckwith was a known narcotics user.

The defendants contend Samantha Beckwith, who was in the prison due to a parole violation, received proper screening when committed to the prison and was not at that time a suicide risk.

The case was initially assigned to U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson but was then transferred to Haines.

The defendants filed their motions to dismiss the civil rights lawsuit two years ago, and Haines heard arguments from both sides March 3, 2020.

Since that time, there has been no movement on the case.

The order late last week denied the motions to dismiss, but was not accompanied by an opinion.

Haines stated the reasons for her order will be filed at a later date.

Pittsburgh attorney Suzanne B. Merrick represents Blair County. Attorney John R. Ninosky of Camp Hill is representing PrimeCare.

Kontos and Killion contend that Samantha Beckwith was a high risk for suicide when she was admitted to the county prison, and that both PrimeCare and prison officials knew of the mental health issues.

In the days before Beckwith's suicide, she had requested placement in solitary confinement, which was denied. She reacted badly to that decision.

At that point, a prison official placed her on suicide watch, but that designation was later removed and she was placed in a cell -- the same cell in which she reportedly attempted to commit suicide in 2015.

The county, it is claimed, lacked a procedure to notify PrimeCare in such a

crisis situation.

One of the issues that arose during the initial stages of the case was a report prepared by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections that referred to the prison's alleged "lax mental health program and faulty procedures" that led to Beckwith's death.

Gibson at the time ruled the report was prepared at the request of the Blair County Commissioners and could not be released to the public.

The judge, however, permitted the plaintiff's lawyers to review certain parts of the report that were not covered by the county's right of "executive privilege."