LANSING — A man diagnosed with a form of autism jumped to his death at Parnall Correctional Facility on Wednesday, a spokeswoman said, in what was the fifth such incident at two Jackson-area prisons since 2020, including four resulted in the deaths of prisoners.
Wesley Snyder
Wesley Thomas Snyder, 37, jumped from a fourth-floor gallery “and suffered fatal injuries as a result of the fall,” said Jenni Riehle, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Snyder’s death, which Riehle said Michigan State Police have already investigated and ruled a suicide, follows a nonfatal fall of an inmate from the third-floor gallery at Parnall in August this year and fatal jumps from the fourth floor gallery in 2023, 2022. and 2020 at the nearby Charles E. Egeler Reception and Guidance Center, the first stop for male state prisoners after they have been condemned, and which has a building with a similar layout.
On each of the four levels there is a walkway around the inner perimeter of the cell block, with only a railing separating the walkway from the open space in the middle, making it possible to jump from the fourth level all the way to the fourth level or to fall. bottom floor.
Snyder’s father, Michael Snyder, who lives near Phoenix, Arizona, said Thursday evening that he spoke to his son on Tuesday, the day before he died, and he is not convinced his son committed suicide. If he did jump, given the history of repeated incidents at the two prisons, it shows negligence on the part of the Michigan Department of Corrections, he said.
“If there was one death, let alone four or five, it just doesn’t make sense that they wouldn’t have done anything,” Snyder said.
“To me, that is negligence on the part of the state of Michigan.”
Parnall Correctional Facility.
In January, the Free Press asked Corrections Department officials if they had considered installing fencing or barriers to prevent such incidents, when the newspaper wrote about a similar incident in Egeler. At the time, department spokesman Kyle Kaminski did not provide a direct answer, saying the agency focuses on mental health screening and that staff is trained to identify signs of possible self-harm.
Riehle did not immediately respond Friday morning when asked why the department has not taken steps to prevent such incidents.
Michael Snyder said he heard about his son’s apparent death through the Free Press and that an assistant deputy warden at Parnall told him his son had committed suicide alone in his cell. To learn otherwise later “makes me angry,” he said.
“That part makes me think someone is trying to cover something up.”
Riehle did not immediately respond to questions Friday about what Michael Snyder was told.
If his son “supposedly jumped, what are the chances that someone pushed him?” asked Snyder, who said that when he spoke to his son Tuesday, he sounded “a little melancholy,” possibly because of the Christmas season, but not distressed or depressed. Instead, he was looking forward to receiving a gift of Christmas money, he said.
Wesley Snyder was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, and could not read or write, his father said. His death, and the way he has been held in state prisons in Michigan since 2016, show shortcomings in society’s handling of mental health issues, he said.
Originally from Indiana, he was a Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast with a remarkable memory for various cards and point values associated with the fantasy role-playing game, his father said.
In 2016, Wesley Snyder pleaded “guilty but mentally ill” in Mecosta County to two counts of assault with intent to murder, the Big Rapids Pioneer reported at the time.
Snyder had fired a bow and arrow at Big Rapids police officers who entered his apartment after responding to a report of an altercation, the newspaper reported. The arrow did not strike either officer, but Snyder fought with police as they tried to remove him from the apartment, leaving one officer injured when he and Snyder fell down the stairs. He was sentenced to twelve to fifty years in prison.
Snyder’s father said the bow and arrow were a toy and that his son was in the fantasy world of Dungeons and Dragons, believing he was protecting his territory from invaders. The family couldn’t afford to hire an attorney and Wesley Snyder was represented by a public defender, he said.
Wesley Snyder’s earliest release date was just over two years away, in January 2027, and “we were already talking about what we were going to do when he got out,” his father said. He hoped his son could work at his son-in-law’s shop, performing tasks such as changing tires and washing vehicles, he said.
“He was a joy to talk to,” and he loved coming up with possible inventions, such as a drone that would function as an automated carpet cleaner to remove cobwebs from ceilings, his father said. “He had a true spirit of love and was wonderful with children.”
Michael Snyder said he and Wesley’s mother divorced when Wesley was about 8. He is also survived by two younger sisters.
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, you can reach the 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 988.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mich. Prisoner plunges to his death in fourth similar fatality since 2020
