The death of a San Francisco County Jail inmate with a history of mental instability is either a lamentable suicide or a preventable tragedy.
It all depends on who you ask about what happened to Antolin Marenco, 40, who died Oct. 3 after he was found hanging from his neck in his cell at the Hall of Justice, according to the San Francisco Examiner.
Marenco was in custody for assault and attempting to escape jail. He also had a history of suicidal tendencies and mental instability, according to the newspaper.
Marenco had fashioned a noose out of a bedsheet earlier in the year, according to the newspaper, which noted that he'd also spent time in the jail's mental health pod.
But he was returned to the normal jail population "several months ago" for reasons unknown.
He was alive when two fellow inmates notified guards that he was hanging from his neck, but according to the man's attorney, no doctor was called and nobody on hand knew how to resuscitate him with a defibrillator.
There is some thought, however, that Marenco was sane and was using mental instability as a cover to receive better treatment, the newspaper reported.
