After the jail suicide of her son, Adam, Maryanne Rappaport says she will be guided by the counsel of her other children on whether to sue; the goal, she said, would be have the county jail make changes.

GUILDERLAND — A grieving mother wants her son’s death to be a wakeup call for the county jail.

Adam Rappaport’s suicide last month in the Albany County jail embodies two nationwide problems for inmates today — drug addiction and self-harm.

Before he hanged himself in his jail cell, Adam Rappaport doodled on prison stationery, lightly penciling in one corner, in small capital letters next to a six-point star the word "hope" — only this and nothing more.

Guilderland Police arrested a 29-year-old homeless man for attempted burglaries, who then hanged himself in jail. The sheriff estimates the county's jail has one suicide a year.