"He was arrested on a suicide attempt and you had no idea he was suicidal?" Gem Wysel asked the sheriff. Her husband, Scott Lewis, was found dead in his cell Friday.

Hoffman said the issues had been addressed and that medical care was left up to doctors

The Palin family confronted the sheriff, wanting to know what procedures were followed and why jail officers were not aware of the suicide threat.

"Law enforcement was notified," said Marian Palin, wife of Brad Palin. "They were aware he had suicidal ideology."

Hoffman said he was not able to comment on specific cases because the required coroner's inquest has not been completed.

"He has been dead for two months and it hasn't been scheduled?" stepson Brian Stoker said.

One member of the audience asked if Hoffman feared legal action against his department.

"Fear is not an appropriate word. The family, in fact the entire community, is grieving. We haven't had time to catch our breath between (the suicides)," Hoffman said.

Wysel again asked about her husband, Lewis.

"There was a suicide letter and you guys had no indication he was suicidal?" she asked.

"There are a lot of things I can't explain about suicide," Hoffman said. "Had we had any warning the people were going to kill themselves we would have stopped it."

Wysel left the courtroom before he finished.

The questions and comments continued from the public, one person suggesting that the jail be closed.

Hoffman fielded the question quickly:

"I don't believe these suicides are intrinsic to this facility," he said, calling the series of suicides a phenomenon. He mentioned other jails recently coping with similar suicides. He cited a sheriff in Champagne, Ill., who had reported three suicides in three months.

Hoffman said he has contacted that sheriff, Dan Walsh, and had just received a report that explained what had been found in the Illinois jail.

"Suicide is contagious. One person commits suicide and tips another toward that permanent solution to a temporary problem," Hoffman said, and explained how mental health workers have been daily fixture in the jail.

David Golie, father of three who have been incarcerated in the last month on drug charges, told Hoffman that the suicides were created by the jail and its treatment of the prisoners.

"That's what you get. (The inmates) are belittled and treated so badly in that jail that the suicides are a product," Golie said.

Hoffman denied any of the abuses mentioned by Golie existed in the jail.

"These people are more than inmates, they are our neighbors," Hoffman said. "They made choices that ended them in (jail). We are reactive. They get the chance to do what they do first."

The sheriff said all the inmates who killed themselves died from self asphyxiation.

"It only takes four minutes to die from lack of oxygen to the brain and roughly 28 seconds to lose consciousness," he explained.

Mental health advocate Kathleen Driscoll asked if there was a mental health provider on site.

Not on site, Hoffman acknowledged, but one is always on call.

Hoffman told the audience he has requested a National Institute of Corrections assessment of the jail.

"The community needs to know our partnerships go beyond Ravalli County and even beyond the border of Montana," he said.

Driscoll suggested a filter system be set up that would separate inmates with potential mental health issues from the general jail population.

Hoffman was adamant that he expected an assessment by the NIC to recommend that step.

The sheriff ended the press conference saying his office is "open to any suggestions."

After the conference County Commissioner Chairman Greg Chilcott spoke of his past experience with the detention staff.

"I know the officers' level of care, compassion and commitment to those currently in custody, and it is very real." he said.

Chilcott express concern and sympathy for the issue but could not promise additional funding for the jail.

"We need to see the NIC assessment. The county expects a lot of services, but we have a finite amount of money. We will do everything we can," he said.

Driscoll also sees the amount of money available to the detention center as an issue.

"There is a capping of money and what you have here is an issue that is not going away," she said, "Why not get that person on staff now?"

She said both Great Falls and Missoula County jails have an on-site mental health practitioner.

Sylvia Mahr, licensed clinical social worker, is one of the people on call for the Hamilton jail. She cited national statistics that show Montana to be the third highest state in the nation for jail or prison suicides.

Driscoll expressed her concern over the intense interest by the media.

"Don't make them heroes or more will die. This is sexy stuff for people but they need to remember this is about death," she said.

Bitterroot Human Rights Alliance John Schneeberger also listened intently at the press conference.

"I came to listen. I heard a lot of upset people," he said, "There is the problem with over-zealous prosecution of drug cases at times, but there is a very real meth problem too," Schneeberger said.

He promised the alliance was going to start paying attention to the jail.

County Attorney George Corn commended Hoffman.

"I think it is important to be out in front of the community," Corn said.

Hoffman said he does expect to be back in front of the public again about the suicides.

Dates have not been scheduled for any of the inquests, nor is Hoffman aware of when the NIC will conduct their assessment of the detention center.

Reporter Timothy Mitchell can be reached at 363-3300 or tmitchell@ravallirepublic.com

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