Rodney Shane Howard, age 32, was rushed to Brownfield Regional Medical Center on September 12, 2019, after a suicide attempt at Terry County Jail in Brownfield, Texas. He died 11 days later.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) handles oversight of all county jails in Texas. The guidelines for jail operations include specifics related to suicide prevention. The standards associated with ensuring the safety of inmates are critical because suicide is the second leading cause of death among prisoners in city and county jails.

Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan

The primary components of suicide prevention reflected in the suicide prevention plan guidelines have to do with identifying at-risk inmates so that they can be supervised at a heightened level and receive help with mental health.

It makes sense that supervision can be the difference between life and death in jail because suicide is a solitary act. A commonsense requirement for inmate supervision is to have a face-to-face check of suicidal inmates every 15 minutes at most. Video surveillance cannot be a substitute for in-person checks.

A complication with suicide prevention is that approximately 40% of the inmates who commit suicide were housed in the general population. In other words, identifying that a person is a suicide risk cannot be achieved 100% of the time. The jail environment itself tends to entice detainees to consider suicide for multiple reasons. Lack of the usual support system, loss of personal control, and a range of other factors can contribute to a person’s decision to attempt suicide.

The fact that suicide prevention in jail is truly a challenge in no way negates the importance of attempting to prevent suicide with all seriousness. Yet, when county jails are inspected, it is often discovered that the rules in place for preventing suicide are frequently neglected. Learn more in this ongoing series.

A desire to help current and former Texas county jail inmates is the reason posts are provided on this website. There is no intention to suggest misdeeds on the part of persons or institutions.

–Guest Contributor