WALLA WALLA — In June 2023, three felons at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla died by suicide while in the state’s custody.
Two inmates died after jumping from the third level of the prison, and the third inmate died after hanging himself.
The inmates — who were serving sentences for crimes ranging from possession of a stolen vehicle to first-degree murder — all died within six days of each other.
In late 2023, information about the deaths of 35-year-old Timothy W. Hemphill, 29-year-old Michael R. Giordano and 23-year-old Everette D. Alonge, was published in reports by the Washington Department of Corrections’ Unexpected Fatality Review Committee.
The reports include background information about the deaths, and the results of reviews completed afterward. Notably, no corrective action plans were published for any of the three deaths.
The reports
According to the DOC website, the Unexpected Fatality Review Committee examines such deaths in Washington’s prisons, as identified by the Washington Office of the Corrections Ombuds.
The reviews are reported to the state legislature. The committee is made up of officials from Washington’s Department of Corrections, Office of the Corrections Ombuds, the Department of Health and the Heath Care Authority.
The committee’s reports are listed on the DOC’s website, along with a link to an “Unexpected Fatality Correction Action Plan” for that death. Next to some reports, however, it is stated that the “UFR Committee did not offer any recommendations for corrective action.”
This is the case for all three deaths by suicide in Walla Walla.
Names of the inmates are not listed on the reports nor are the names of the prisons in which the deaths occurred. However, using information from the Department of Corrections via public records requests, the Union-Bulletin was able to identify the reports for the three deaths at Washington State Penitentiary.
Timothy W. Hemphill
Hemphill died on June 12, two days after he was found unresponsive in his cell after hanging himself.
He was serving sentences for one count of second-degree burglary and three counts of possession of a stolen vehicle, crimes all committed in King County. Had he survived, he was scheduled for release next month — February 2024.
According to the DOC report, Hemphill was housed in a residential mental health treatment unit. He had been diagnosed with mental conditions “for which he was appropriately treated by his mental health team with only episodic follow up in primary care.”
According to the report, the committee “did not identify any additional recommendations to prevent a similar fatality in the future.”
The committee did, however, note some procedures were not followed, such as, “The pill line nurse did not follow Medication Administration Nursing Protocol … when they failed to notify the psychiatric provider after the first medication dose that the individual had missed prior to his death.”
The report also notes that DOC “does not have an electronic health record or electronic medication administration system which would automate these provider notifications.”
The Office of the Ombuds requested that the DOC provide incarcerated individuals information about the 988-Suicide Prevention Hotline resource.
According to the timeline included in the report, two days before his death, a routine check was conducted at 2:34 p.m. After the check and until 2:39 p.m., Hemphill’s cell door reportedly opened and closed several times.
When another check occurred at 3:11 p.m., an officer found him unresponsive and radioed for help. Officials called 911 as two other inmates assisted the officer in supporting Hemphill’s body.
Nursing staff responded. The emergency medical services team arrived at 3:28 p.m., and he was taken to Providence St. Mary Medical Center at 3:54 p.m. He was pronounced dead at 5:01 p.m. two days later.
Hemphill’s father, Mitch Hemphill, said he hopes the information in the investigation helps prevent other deaths.
“As long as they can actually follow through with their findings as soon as possible, that would be a good start,” he said. “But that doesn’t help or alleviate anything that has happened in the past.”
Michael R. Giordano
Giordano was serving a life sentence for a first-degree murder conviction in King County.
He died June 16, a day after jumping from the third floor inside the prison.
Though there was no action plan filed in his death, the death report does include some suggestions.
According to the report, “The committee noted that consuming too much coffee by those housed in a residential treatment unit may exacerbate their mental health symptoms and recommended exploring options to limit the amount of coffee purchased by residents.”
The report notes that after Giordano died, but before the report was written, “safety screens and barriers” were installed in the prison’s upper levels to prevent further deaths by falls.
Giordano was housed in a mental health residential treatment unit.
The report states that there was some delay in his mental health appraisal.
“The incarcerated individual received an intake mental health screening but was not prioritized for a mental health appraisal at the reception center,” the report said. “He received the appraisal four months after his transfer to the parent facility. He did receive a psychiatric assessment within three weeks of transferring to his parent facility. The delay in completing the formal mental health appraisal did not appear to impact his treatment.”
According to a timeline included in the report, at 7:23 a.m. June 15, the third-floor doors opened. At 7:24 a.m., Giordano exited his cell, climbed railing and dove to the floor.
Prison medical staff performed CPR. At 7:39 a.m., EMS arrived, and at 7:54 a.m. he was taken to the hospital. He was pronounced dead at 7:49 a.m. the next day.
Everette D. Alonge
Alonge was serving a sentence for a Yakima County conviction of possession of a stolen vehicle and a Spokane County conviction of second-degree organized retail theft.
According to an online Washington court database, his sentence from Yakima County was 19 months and his sentence from Spokane County was 17 months. Both sentences were being served concurrently.
He died June 11 after jumping from an upper floor of the prison.
Alonge was in a mental health residential treatment unit and was “appropriately coded as seriously mentally ill,” according to the report.
Like in Giordano’s death report, this report also talks about high coffee intake being an issue with inmates diagnosed with mental illness.
“(The Department of Health) recommends DOC explore options for monitoring coffee intake and the possibility of limiting caffeine intake while still supporting the incarcerated individual’s decisional autonomy,” the report states.
The report also states that, “The committee identified a missed opportunity for a relationship with the primary care team which could have acted as an additional supportive factor.”
According to a timeline in the report, Alonge exited his cell at 1:35 p.m., climbed the railing, leaned over and fell to the floor. Custody staff arrived the next minute to begin CPR, and medical staff took those efforts over two minutes later.
At 1:47 EMS arrived and continued medial efforts, but those efforts were unsuccessful and Alonge was pronounced dead at 1:52 p.m.
