When 28-year-old Javonte Lakendrick Myers was found nonresponsive in Fort Worth’s Tarrant County Jail in June 2020, he was immediately given medical attention. Shortly after the arrival of an EMS team, however, he was pronounced dead, though a cause of death was not immediately identified.

In Texas and in jails throughout the US, authorities have taken action to attempt to reduce the number of suicides and other custodial deaths in correctional facilities. Alarmingly, in spite of an increased focus on the problem and steps taken to heighten inmate supervision accountability, there hasn’t been a measurable improvement.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards put a new minimum jail standard into place requiring that all county jails increase accountability with regard to supervision of at-risk inmates. By August 31, 2020, all Texas county jails were to have cameras or electronic sensors installed. The purpose is to record face-to-face observations of inmates. During annual jail inspections, observation documentation is compared with records from these devices.

It is not unusual for jail non-compliance to relate to inmate supervision and personal observations. The general population must be observed every hour, at most. The at-risk population of inmates must be observed every 30 minutes or every 15 minutes at most, depending on which classification they are in. Research shows that inmate supervision is the most effective way to reduce custodial deaths and injuries.

See Part 1 of this ongoing series. In the next segment, learn specifics about non-compliance in Texas county jails related to inmate supervision.

The posts on this site are intended to help inmates that are detained in county jails in the state of Texas. There is never an intention on this site to infer wrongs on the part of persons or entities.

–Guest Contributor