An inmate found dead at the Montgomery County Detention Center committed suicide, according to police and jail officials.
Authorities said 21-year-old Vincent B. Peppins hanged himself Jan. 13, the day he was booked on warrants for auto theft in St. Mary’s and Frederick counties. His death wasn’t publicly reported until this week, prompting questions about the information a jail should disclose when an inmate dies.
Peppins was apprehended after fleeing from a car during a traffic stop in Montgomery County, police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said.
He was booked into the jail shortly before noon, said Arthur Wallenstein, director of the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation. That evening, Peppins was found hanging in a shower stall.
Baur said police received a report of a possible suicide at 7:39 p.m. Peppins was pronounced dead at a hospital about 40 minutes later.
The office of the state’s chief medical examiner ruled the death a suicide, and said the cause was injuries from hanging, Baur said.
The death was first publicly reported after Peppins’ family told WUSA 9 that it questioned the suicide ruling.
The lack of information about a jail death is concerning, justice experts said.
“Without public notification, you can’t know if there’s an issue that should be dealt with more systematically,” said Tracy Velazquez, executive director of the Justice Policy Institute.
Wallenstein said police were called instantly and “there was no withholding of information.” Baur said the department didn’t issue a news release because the medical examiner quickly confirmed the death as a suicide and detectives found no evidence of foul play.
In the Maryland state prison system, where two inmate homicides have occurred this month, the corrections department generally announces when an inmate dies, a spokeswoman said.
That’s a “best practice” most agencies follow, said David Fathi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Prison Project. He said the public and media have limited access to jails, so those facilities “have a greater responsibility to take affirmative steps” to disclose information.
Suicide is the leading cause of death at jails, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Wallenstein said there have been three suicides in Montgomery in the 11 years he has led the department.
