There are few details in the report about the untimely death of Dallas County Jail inmate Ariel Nicole Henley. The custodial death report (CDR) was filed with the Attorney General of Texas by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department on October 11, 2022. Ms. Henley died at age 25 on October 5, 2022, and her cause of death, yet unknown, is pending the results of an autopsy.

Dallas County Jail Fails a February 2022 Inspection

Dallas County Jail failed a 2021 jail inspection plus two so far in 2022. In a jail inspection report dated February 14, 2022, four alleged violations of minimum jail standards are listed in the non-compliance report. One can especially raise red flags because it involves face-to-face observations of at-risk inmates.

Observations are conducted at staggered times, though the maximum time between inmate checks is 30 minutes in the area housing potentially suicidal, mentally ill, or assaultive inmates and those who have demonstrated bizarre behavior. Rule §275.1-Regular Observation by Jailers is listed in the chapter on the Supervision of Inmates. Ultimately, supervision is recognized as a major factor in suicide prevention in jails. The following is information about the Dallas County Jail’s alleged non-compliance with Rule §275.1 as detailed by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) inspector:

• Documented observation logs of suicidal and aggressive inmates were reviewed and found to be incorrect when compared to video documentation. An added note points out that the standard operating procedure in Dallas County Jail is to observe inmates on Suicide Prevention status every 15 minutes.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this ongoing series.

In establishing this website, the purpose was to provide information of benefit to inmates detained in city and county Texas jails, and suggesting that anyone or any institution has been a participant in wrongdoing is never intended.

–Guest Contributor