Deaths in Pa. jails are undercounted

Jeff Lagrotteria and Tina Talotta waited 30 minutes before doctors would allow them to enter the hospital room where their cousin Anthony Talotta was barely alive, breathing on a ventilator.

“Because they had to prepare him for us to see him,” Lagrotteria said, referring to his shocking appearance.

Talotta had been living at a group home for men with intellectual and psychiatric disabilities where, after an altercation, a pot of boiling water fell on him and on a worker. Police were called and Talotta was taken to a hospital Sept. 10, 2022, and then to the Allegheny County Jail. His foot had second-degree burns, torn ligaments and fractures.


Talotta’s story encompasses much of what can go wrong inside Pennsylvania jails. He was released from custody while dying in the hospital and his death was not reported to the Department of Justice or the Department of Corrections by the Allegheny County Jail, as required.


https://www.pennlive.com/news/2023/11/deaths-in-pa-jails-are-undercounted-our-investigation-found-dozens-of-hidden-cases.html