BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) -- Just as the Erie County Legislature is debating a pay raise for the county jail superintendent, a third inmate in as many months takes his own life.

This third suicide has led to Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz to call on the County Attorney, Cheryl Green, to resign. In a statement released Thursday, Poloncarz said the following:

"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."

At the same time, the Erie County Legislature is mulling over a bill to give a pay raise to the man in charge of the county jails. Robert Koch is Superintendent of Jail Management, and oversees the county jail system.

Thursday, the citizen group, 'Erie County Prisoners' Rights Coalition' called on the legislature to deny the provision, hoping that some legislators will see, "the absurdity of rewarding the kind of mismanagement," that has led to the recent developments.

The Legislature could vote on the proposal as early as 2:00 p.m. Thursday.

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