Yesterday, another prisoner at the Erie County Holding Center committed suicide and, according to published reports, this inmate had been identified as a suicide risk prior to his detention.

This is the third suicide in the Holding Center since December, with at least two other suicide attempts in the Sheriff’s Division of Jail Management. Based on federal statistics, this is apparently the tenth (10th) suicide at the Holding Center since 2003.

For more than one year, County Executive Chris Collins and Sheriff Timothy Howard have prevented the U.S. Department of Justice from inspecting the County jails based on the advice of County Attorney Cheryl Green. Ms. Green has even advised that the county bar a federal suicide prevention expert from examining the holding center and jail. She recently called the Justice Department's claim that it could offer advice on reducing suicides as "speculative at best."

Unfortunately, because of Ms. Green’s advice, we can now speculate on the possibility that millions of dollars may be paid by the taxpayers of Erie County to resolve the myriad of lawsuits related to these suicides and other problems in the jails.

It is time for this situation to end. The problems at the County’s jails must be fixed now.

The county executive and sheriff can no longer stick their heads in the sand and deny there are problems at the Holding Center and Correctional Facility. It is time for the confrontational stance of this administration to end and for the county to allow the federal and state governments’ complete and unfettered access to the jails to help the County address the issues and problems at each facility. Not addressing poor conditions, including overcrowding, unsanitary and unsafe conditions (for both prisoners and deputies), and a lack of healthcare and proper mental health treatment and evaluation only costs the taxpayers more in the long run.

It is also time for a change in legal counsel. Cheryl Green's advice has ill-served the taxpayers of Erie County. Our pocketbooks will all pay for her poor counsel in the end.

Because this situation has continued for too long and, in fact, has worsened, I am calling for the resignation of County Attorney Cheryl Green. The people of Erie County can no longer afford to be represented by her.

I also call on the county executive and sheriff to immediately provide the Justice Department’s suicide prevention specialist with access to the Holding Center and Correctional Facility to help address these issues. To do so otherwise would be to continue a miscarriage of justice.

Working with the Justice Department and enabling their access to the jails will not ensure there will never be another suicide. But we must take every action available to ensure we are preventing suicides, including working with our partners in the law enforcement field. Doing so will help protect the County and its hard-working taxpayers from the cost associated with the lawsuits that will arise from these suicides and suicide attempts.