A bedsheet was used by 31-year-old Alexander Jonah McFarland to hang himself at the Travis County Correctional Complex in Del Valle, Texas. He was discovered nonresponsive as a result of the suicide attempt on July 11, 2021. After being moved to a hospital, Mr. McFarland died on July 17, 2021.

The report mentioned in the first part of this series conducted studies that ended in recommendations of what counties should do to avoid preventable custodial deaths, and a few follow.

Jail Diversion

One suggestion involves “jail diversion.” Harris County, Texas, has been involved in a Mental Health Jail Diversion project. The purpose of the project is to help mentally ill individuals get services and mental health diagnoses they need without going to jail. The specific recommendation is to diligently use Sequential Intercept Mapping for the development and implementation of jail diversion strategies. This would mean counties would encourage cross-collaboration between courts, mental health providers, and law enforcement to plan, create, and grow opportunities for jail diversion.

Avoid Arrests

Whenever possible, replace warrants and arrests with citations and summons, including for arrests associated with Class C misdemeanors, which are at the lowest level.

Accommodate Pretrial Release

Plan pretrial diversion programs with the help of mental health professionals and advocates who would work to ensure that mental illness is not an obstacle to pretrial release.

Learn more in Part 1 and this ongoing series.

With the aim of helping current and previous prisoners housed in county jails in Texas, this website offers informational posts. There is never an intention on this site to imply that wrongdoing has occurred on the part of people, organizations, or governmental entities.

–Guest Contributor