In a jail outside Texas, a 17-year-old recently died by hanging himself in his cell using a sheet. Officials in the state are currently investigating whether officers at the jail performed the required observation checks of the teen. Under the jail standards in that state, jailers in county jails are required to check on each prisoner at least every 30 minutes. A review of the records during the timeframe when the teen took his own life shows that he was last seen before noon when he was given his lunch. The time of his death is unknown.

At about 1:50 PM on the day the tragic custodial death occurred, a jail detention officer discovered the teen unresponsive. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was administered by medical personnel at the jail and first-responders, but the juvenile was never revived.

A chief deputy with the jail said that he examined records at the juvenile detention center going back 15 years and discovered no cases of a juvenile committing suicide in the county’s jails. The Sheriff in charge of that jail said that the care of inmates is taken very seriously and that the jail gears all that they do toward ensuring the safety of each individual.

Many studies on custodial deaths have revealed that frequent observation of inmates is the top way to prevent custodial injuries and deaths.

When Texas jails are inspected by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards annually, observation records are checked against electronic records to determine whether inmates are being observed as required. In Texas, the general population is observed every hour and at-risk inmates must be personally checked every 30 minutes.

The posts on this site are provided as informational resources. It is never intended on this site to denote that a person or institution has engaged in wrongdoing or impropriety of any sort.

–Guest Contributor