Wrongful death suit filed after Whatcom County jail suicide

Associated Press

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — The mother of a woman who killed herself while in the Whatcom County jail has filed a lawsuit claiming her daughter’s death was preventable.

The Bellingham Herald reported that the lawsuit, filed Thursday, claims that Shannon Rose Jefferson’s March 2014 death could have been prevented if she received a more timely mental health screening, if she received mental health treatment more quickly and if jail officer checked on inmates more often.

Jefferson had been in the Whatcom County Jail f0or about two weeks before she hanged herself in her solitary confinement cell.

Whatcom County Jail Chief Wendy Jones says she cannot comment on the lawsuit but that the jail appropriately checks on all inmates.

An attorney for Whatcom County did not return a call seeking comment on Monday.

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