DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Community members are demanding answers after a series of deaths at a local jail.
The community continues to look for answers in the deaths of seven inmates at the Montgomery County Jail, all of which died in 2023. On Tuesday night, the Montgomery County Jail Coalition hosted a meeting to update the situation and find solutions.
There have been more inmate deaths this year at Montgomery County Jail than the last two years combined. Five of those deaths were associated with drugs.
Additionally, Montgomery County has the highest number of inmate deaths in the entire state of Ohio.
During the meeting, the coalition shared that there are 615 inmates held in the Montgomery County Jail. 67 percent of those inmates have a substance use disorder. A majority of the inmates are also awaiting trial.
Coalition members added that they would like to see diversion programs that help inmates get the care they need while awaiting trial, though some services, like Medicaid, are turned off once they are in jail.
The Montgomery County Jail Coalition told 2 NEWS the relationship with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office has improved, and they hope the two sides can work together to fight this issue.
