Published July 16, 2010

The news of an eighth suicide this year in a Massachusetts correctional facility is troubling. That’s four times the national average, the Globe reports. It was enough to push the Patrick administration to hire a suicide prevention expert.

But consider another new and staggering statistic: On average, a U.S. service member committed suicide every day last month — 32 in all. Most of those who took their lives were on active duty —  and many of those in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Army has deployed a suicide prevention website and a video called “I Will Never Quit On Life.”

In January, 28 service members committed suicide. 145 this year — more than half of last year’s total, a record-breaking 245, CNN reports.