Video

Video 6.1: How Prisons Keep Their Suicidal Inmates on Watch

Description: The suicide of former NFL player Aaron Hernandez in his prison cell is one of several recent suicides of people in custody, prompting experts to question whether these deaths were preventable.

Video 6.2: Escaping Oklahoma’s Female Prison Epidemic

Description: Oklahoma’s prisons are home to the largest number of female inmates per capita in the country. For some--like Aliea, who says she’s been addicted to meth since she was 12, and just finished serving her second prison sentence--the state’s harsh drug laws mean that the cycle of addiction and incarceration can be almost impossible to break.

Audio

Audio 6.1: Ex-Patriots Star Aaron Hernandez Commits Suicide in Prison

Description: The former New England tight end was found hanged in his cell by corrections officers Wednesday. He was serving a life sentence for a 2013 murder. He was recently acquitted of separate murder charges.

Audio 6.2: Psychiatrist Recalls “Heartbreak and Hope” on Bellevue’s Prison Ward

Description: When mentally ill inmates in New York City’s Rikers Island jail become too sick, violent, delusional or suicidal for the jail to handle, they’re sent to Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward for treatment.