Matthew Ray Maxwell was arrested and placed into the custody of the Wichita County Jail in Wichita Falls, Texas, on March 28, 2022. He was housed in a single cell. On April 1, 2022, he died after making stomach complaints and being moved for observation in the jail infirmary.

Lack of supervision is often associated with suicide and inmate injury in county jails. For that reason, it is disturbing to find that areas of noncompliance are often related to requirements related to the routine observation of prisoners.

Alleged Noncompliance – Rains County Jail in Emory, Texas

In a jail inspection report dated February 9, 2022, Rains County Jail is cited for four different areas of alleged noncompliance. An inspector with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) made notes detailing evidence of noncompliance regarding the following rules:

• RULE §265.3            Observation During Holding
• RULE §273.5(a)(2) – Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan-Identification
• RULE §273.5(c)(2) – Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan- Mental Health/Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities History Check
• RULE §275.1            Regular Observation by Jailers

Details about each alleged violation of minimum jail standards set by TCJS follow below and in the next segment of this series.

RULE §265.3-Observation During Holding

Jailers must observe the inmates confined in detoxification or holding cells in intervals not to exceed every 30 minutes.

• The TCJS inspector noted that documentation shows that instead of observing inmates in holding cells in 30-minute intervals, as required, such face-to-face observations are conducted only in 60-minute intervals.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this continuing series.

Making suggestions regarding wrongdoing having occurred on the part of people or institutions is never intended on this website. Each post is added as a potential benefit to county jail prisoners in Texas.

–Guest Contributor