Eddie Garcia died in June 2021 at the age of 29 years old while incarcerated in Nueces County Jail in Corpus Christi, Texas. Mr. Garcia used a bed linen around his neck to strangle himself to death.

Suicide prevention is addressed in the minimum jail standards for county jails set out by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). Jail staff members must be trained to prevent suicide from occurring, per the following rule in the Texas Administrative Code along with another that addresses inmate supervision.

RULE §273.5 – Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan

• Jailers must be trained on how to recognize, supervise, document, and handle potentially suicidal inmates. For employees involved in intake screening, supplemental training is required. Placement of inmates in Texas county jails is a result of assessments made during intake. The area of county jails where potentially suicidal inmates is housed is supervised much more closely than areas with a general population of inmates.

There are key times to watch an inmate for the purpose of observing signs and symptoms of suicidal thoughts, according to learning material from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. The following are some examples:

• During arrest and the booking process
• The first 24 hours of jail confinement
• The inmate is waiting for results of a high-profile trial
• Release is impending
• On holidays
• When staff supervision is decreased

Learn more in Part 1 and one more installment to come in this series.

The goal in providing posts on this website is to help Texas county jail prisoners. This applies whether they are now or were formerly incarcerated. It is not intended on this site to infer that persons or entities have engaged in wrongdoing.

–Guest Contributor