Two men who had been incarcerated at Montgomery County Jail in Conroe, Texas, died of natural causes within approximately two weeks of one another. Mosheer Rashid, age 41, and Carl Bible, age 35, had both been diagnosed with the flu before dying. According to the jail, they both suffered from multiple health issues prior to contracting the flu.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) establishes guidelines for Texas county jail operations, and many of the requirements are designed to keep inmates safe from harm. Each year, the county jails in the state are inspected as a way of determining whether the facilities are maintaining minimum jail standards.

In a recent Special Inspection Report that reflected the results of an inspection instigated by a custodial death, the jail was cited for a violation that could call into question whether jail staff members present in the facility at the time of the death were familiar with TCJS requirements.

Non-Compliance in the Supervision of Inmates

Title 37, Part 9 of the Texas Administrative Code, RULE §275.2 states that jailers appointed to directly supervise inmates must be licensed per requirements in a different section of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

• The TC JS inspector found that seven individuals that worked in the jail on the date of the inmate’s death did not have a temporary or permanent jailer’s license. In addition, a supervisor on duty that day was only in the process of obtaining a Temporary Jailers License. Any jailer who supervises inmates must be licensed as specified and, before being promoted, county jail supervisors must possess a permanent jailer’s license.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.

This website offers posts intended to assist current and previous Texas county jail prisoners. There is never an intention to suggest that individuals or organizations have engaged in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor