Notes about his April 1, 2022, entry as an inmate in Guadalupe County Jail in Seguin, Texas, indicate that Mason Tyler Simon appeared intoxicated and seemed to need medical care. On his fourth day there, he was found hanging from his cell bars by a t-shirt that was used as a ligature and live-saving measures began. On April 5, 2022, Mr. Simon was pronounced dead in the hospital that the jail had him transported to in an ambulance.

The following continues with another low-cost suggestion for inmate suicide prevention and more are to follow in the ongoing series.

House Suicidal Inmates in High-Traffic Areas

There is significant evidence that face-to-face supervision is a leading deterrent to inmate suicide. Therefore, a potentially low-cost strategy for increasing the supervision of at-risk inmates is to house them where more eyes will be on them more frequently. Being in a high-traffic area should deter inmate suicide, an act that occurs in solitude. Even though the responsibility for face-to-face observation of inmates falls to specific staff members, the jail can create a culture in which all staff members know to remain alert to potential suicide by checking inmates at every opportunity, even if casually walking by.

The John Jay College of Criminal Justice conducted a study on jail suicide and reports that 24% of all jail suicides happen within the first 24 hours in a facility. The rate of inmate suicide is 27% on days 2 through 14 of incarceration. Watching inmates with greater attention during these timeframes is critical for the prevention of inmate suicide.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, and this continuing series.

This website does not intend to place blame on people or organizations in connection with perceived wrongdoing. This site purposes to help Texas inmates now or previously held in a county jail.

–Guest Contributor