Mother of dead inmate raising money through website

The mother of a man who died, apparently of a suicide, while incarcerated at Washington County jail started an online fundraising effort for a private autopsy, funeral costs and to initiate a wrongful-death suit.
Gregory Michaux, 38, of Clarksville, who was awaiting trial on aggravated assault and other charges, was found hanging from a sheet in his cell early Saturday. He was pronounced dead at 2:19 a.m. in the Washington Hospital emergency room.
His mother, Freda Michaux, a resident of Ohio, has set a goal of $8,000 in a monthlong fundraising effort that began Tuesday. As of Wednesday, pledges through the indiegogo.com site totaled $426. Michaux said she wants to file a lawsuit against what she called “a corrupt correctional institution embedded in an infamous racist county in Washington, Pa.”
Asked for comment on the fundraising website, Washington County jail Warden John Temas on Wednesday said the assertion Gregory Michaux was on suicide watch was not correct.
“Whenever an inmate is on suicide watch their cell is supposed to be empty and the guards are supposed to check on the inmate every 20 minutes to ensure that they have not attempted to harm themselves,” the plea on the website said. “If Washington County jail followed these policies how did Gregory hang himself with a sheet? We need answers, please show your support for a beloved family member and friend.”
As to other allegations made on the website, Temas said, “I’m not going to comment on what she has in there.”
Temas said Michaux’s death is being investigated internally, by city police and by the Washington County coroner’s office, which is awaiting a toxicology report.
“There are still things we need to find out,” Temas said. “She (Freda Michaux) can write anything she wants because the matter is under investigation. We will wait until the facts are in.”
A message through Facebook seeking to speak with Freda Michaux did not receive a response as of 5 p.m. Wednesday.
This is the second suicide this year at the county jail. On Feb. 2, Richard A. Kempf, 31, of Washington, who was awaiting trial on burglary and related charges, was found in his cell after using a bed sheet to hang himself. In May, Kempf’s family filed a wrongful-death suit against the county.
A meeting of the Washington County Prison Board, which could have been convened Wednesday, did not take place.
Board members gather at mid-month the day before a county commissioners’ voting meeting, but an additional meeting two weeks beforehand is held at the discretion of the warden. The additional meeting is convened when the commissioners need to vote on something regarding the jail.
“I wouldn’t have enough on the investigation to discuss with the board,” Temas said. “The investigation is not complete. I would have nothing to discuss with the board on the death at this point.
“It would be premature to inform the board as to what occurred. The facts are not all in.”
Commission Chairman Larry Maggi, who also is chairman of the prison board and a former state trooper and sheriff, said he has investigated suicides that occurred both inside and outside jail.
“Sometimes you can’t stop these things,” he said. “We don’t like to see them happen, but we’re in the real world. (The jail staff does) the best they can with what they have. Unfortunately, things are going to happen. Do we take away all the sheets and blankets? I don’t think so. We don’t give them dental floss, we don’t give them shoelaces, we don’t give them belts.
“We continue to review our procedures. We continue to educate our corrections officers as we have done for years on what to look for, and I’m not sure there’s much else we can do.”