Princola D. Shields
Princola D. Shields was a young woman whom her family describes as a free spirit, bubbly and loving, who had a rough upbringing and was working to turn her life around, with a new job and a pet rabbit. She was held at Indiana Women's Prison in Indianapolis, where an IndyStar review of medical files says she was left alone for about three hours in a shower stall after an argument in the chow hall, crying for help. Former prisoners and experts say she had repeatedly sought help for depression and bipolar disorder, and prison officials called her death in September 2015 an apparent suicide, after she was found hanging in the shower and died at Eskenazi Hospital the next morning. Her family has filed a tort claim alleging misconduct, while the Indiana Department of Correction has declined to explain the confinement and says its investigations found an appropriate response. A Sick podcast report, based on public records and fellow prisoners, says guards did not check on her as often as they were required to.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (disputed; neglect alleged). The podcast reporting says she died by suicide in the shower and that guards did not check on her as often as required, while the family's tort claim alleges misconduct and says she was left alone for about three hours crying for help, and the Department of Correction says its response was appropriate.
Reported by: Sick podcast reporting, based on public records and fellow prisoners (reporters); IndyStar review of medical files (reporters); Indiana Women's Prison spokesman Tim Horan (the agency that held her); Indiana Department of Correction (the agency that held her); family tort claim.
News reports (4)
- Internal investigation underway at Indiana Women’s Prison after inmate’s apparent suicide
- Inmate at Indiana Women's Prison dies from 'apparent suicide' on Tuesday morning
- Jailing Princola Shields: A hopeless ending for a mentally ill Indiana teenager
- New season of ‘Sick’ podcast investigates death and sexual abuse inside Indiana Women’s Prison