Brian Keith Gandy was a prisoner at Gaines County Jail in Seminole, Texas, and he hung himself by the neck and died on April 21, 2021. He had been on suicide watch but a judgment was made to remove him from that status.

One way jails attempt to prevent suicide is by properly classifying inmates. All prisoners are supposed to be detained in the housing that is the least restrictive for them, appropriate to their needs. High-risk prisoners are placed in areas of the jail where supervision via personal observations is either every 30 minutes or every 15 minutes at most. 

• The following are also risk factors considered during the classification of inmates:
  • Drug and/or alcohol abuse
  • History of escape, if any
  • History of offenses
  • History of institutional disciplinary actions
  • Current conviction or offense

Factors pertaining to criteria for classification may not include religious preference, ethnicity, or race.

Classification Instruments

The following are instruments approved for utilization during the classification procedures:

• Custody Reassessment/Review
• Initial Custody Assessment. 
• Intake Screening

A Non-Compliant Texas Jail 

In a Jail Inspection Report dated March 17, 2021, for a county Texas jail, some areas of non-compliance were found in areas touched on above.  Learn details in the next segment and also see Part 1 of this series.

In providing posts for this website, it is intended to help inmates incarcerated in the past or present in a Texas county jail. It is never intended on this site to infer misdeeds on the part of persons or entities.

–Guest Contributor