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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 4, 2005 Jail inmate attempts suicide By CHRIS CONRAD Mail Tribune A Jackson County Jail inmate attempted suicide Saturday by slashing his arm with a razor blade given to him by jail officials for personal hygiene. At about 7:15 a.m., sheriff’s deputies responded to banging caused by inmates sharing a cell with the man. Matthew Hamilton Conway, 33, cut his left arm after removing a blade from a safety razor issued by jail officials, Sgt. Sue Lehman said. Deputies applied first aid and called an ambulance. Conway, who was jailed on a charge of felony fourth-degree assault, was taken by Mercy Flights ambulance to Rogue Valley Medical Center, where he was treated and released. He was then returned to jail, where he remained late Saturday on $30,000 bail, Lehman said. Inmates are issued safety razors every morning and left unsupervised with them for about an hour before deputies collect them, Lehman said. "We don’t want them to have access to them for that long of a time," Lehman said. Advertisement This particular razor, though, was meant to deter misuse. "We were told that this razor would make it harder for them to do that," Lehman said. "It has a little guard on the end that makes it hard to remove a blade without tools." Lehman said she did not know whether jail officials would switch to another type of razor. She also would not comment on the extent of Conway’s injuries. Jail policy states that any inmate that shows signs of being suicidal is not to be given a razor, Lehman said. "Nothing about (Conway) made us think he was suicidal," Lehman said. The last inmate suicide attempt occurred July 15, when Christopher Roby, 37, tried to hang himself with a bed sheet. Roby survived with minor injuries. He was jailed for pointing a gun at sheriff’s deputies after a car chase on Highway 234. The last time an inmate committed suicide at the jail was in January 2004, when Charles Shaw, 40, used a bed sheet to hang himself from an air vent. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy Online Casino Reviews Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Discount Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Advertisement s