The Travis County Sheriff’s Department in Austin, Texas, filed a custodial death report (CDR) about 21-year-old Sappi Franck the day after his September 13, 2023, death. Mr. Franck’s middle name is shown as Tchoualack Jeugoum. He had gone through intake at the jail on September 2, 2023. The summary of how the death occurred is very brief. It essentially says officers found him lethargic and verbally unresponsive on September 8, 2023. He was transported by ambulance to Dell Seton Medical Center, where he was admitted into the intensive care unit. He ultimately died at the medical facility.

Suicide Detection and Prevention in Jails

An outline of a Texas course on detecting and preventing suicide in jails provides a glimpse of the comprehensive efforts made along those lines. If correctional officers receive training and gain a proper understanding of suicidal behavior and detainees’ mental impairments, many jail suicides can be prevented.

A comprehensive suicide prevention program, if adopted and implemented, can be successful. The following are some of the components that should be included:

• Staff training
• Instruction on intake screening
• Communication between staff
• Providing detainees with appropriate and safe housing
• Frequent observation of detainees
• Prompt intervention
• Social interactions

Learn more in Part 1 and this continuing series.

This site, as one of its purposes, provides information to help Texas detainees who are or have been incarcerated in a county or municipal jail in the state. Insinuating that an individual or organization has been involved in wrongdoing is never intended.

–Guest Contributor