|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
South Carolina’s Department of Corrections (SCDC) is providing additional information regarding the death by suicide of convicted killer and former Mexican restaurant magnate Greg Leon on Friday afternoon.
According to the agency, there were “no indications (Leon) needed to be placed on suicide watch or needed a higher level of scrutiny” than other inmates at the facility.
Leon hanged himself in a cell one week after he was admitted to Kirkland Correctional Institution, an SCDC intake center located just north of Columbia, S.C. The 56-year-old native of San Jose de la Paz, Jalisco – who owned and operated the popular San Jose restaurant franchise – was sentenced to thirty-five years in prison last week by circuit court judge Walton J. McLeod IV after a jury convicted him for the February 2016 murder of 28-year-old Arturo Bravo, his wife Rachel Leon‘s lover.
Leon’s death by suicide came three days after he was named in a civil complaint filed on behalf of the heirs of his murder victim.
***
According to a document released on Saturday by SCDC communications director Chrysti Shain, Leon was moved into his housing unit at Kirkland this Wednesday (July 12, 2023).
“At the time, he had two other cellmates,” Shain noted. “One of those (cellmates) was moved out on Thursday, July 13. On Friday, Leon had one cellmate.”
At the time he hanged himself, however, Leon was “alone in his cell” as his remaining cellmate was “at work performing tasks in the living unit.”
Like all new SCDC inmates, those housed in Kirkland for reception and evaluation “are checked on twice an hour,” according to Shain.
(Click to View)
“During this check, officers must personally observe each inmate,” she said. “The checks are not done on a strict schedule to limit predictability, but must be done within 40 minutes.”
Checks commence on one side of the living area and work their way through – generally concluding within twenty minutes. Shain released the following timeline for Leon’s unit yesterday …
(Click to View)
According to Shain, new inmates are “evaluated on a number of areas, including medical, mental health, education, substance abuse, job skills, goals and other metrics to determine the best institution for them to spend their sentence.”
“For example, if an inmate needs kidney dialysis, he needs to be assigned to an institution where he can get treatment,” she said. “Or, if an inmate wants to complete a technical school or college degree, we have institutions where that is possible. The process takes about 45 days.”
Leon was in the midst of that process, Shain said, and had already been evaluated “for mental health needs” as part of a longstanding process approved by a mental health implementation panel.
Shain’s statement preempted potential questions about security arrangements at Kirkland.
“SCDC does not release officer/inmate ratios as this information is considered a security plan,” she said. “That is a longstanding practice.”
Once again, as is our custom in reporting on stories involving suicides, if anyone reading this post is dealing with issues that have them questioning whether to take their own life (or thinking of harming themselves), please – call a friend. You can also reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-TALK. Or just text or call 988 (more info here). As I often say, “you are not alone – you are never alone.”
***
THE DOCUMENT …
(Via: S.C. Department of Corrections)
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to proactively address? We have an open microphone policy here at FITSNews! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
