On the eighth day of his incarceration at Bexar County Jail in San Antonio, Texas, 35-year-old Ryan O’Shea took his own life. A deputy who noticed that he had not eaten his meal entered O’Shea’s cell and found him hanging from his neck with a sheet.

Inmate suicide is a major issue in jails across the US because the suicide rate in lockups is significantly higher than in the general population. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) addresses suicide in the minimum jail standards that all Texas county jails are required to uphold. Many jails in Texas are cited for non-compliance in areas associated with ensuring that inmates are safe from harm, whether that harm is caused by themselves or others.

Inmate Supervision

Studies show that the most effective deterrent to custodial suicide is supervision. For that reason, the face-to-face observation of inmates who are at risk for suicide must occur every 30 minutes at most whereas the general population is observed in a face-to-face encounter every 60 minutes. This extra measure of safety is a requirement and, yet, jail inspection reports often show non-compliance when observation records are examined.

Violation of Minimum Jail Standards

As reflected in an April 2021 Jail Inspection Report, an inspector with TCJS found that there was a violation in regard to the observations that must be performed every 30 minutes for the purpose of helping to ensure the safety of potentially suicidal inmates as well as mentally ill and assaultive inmates. The inspector simply indicated that jailers exceeded the 30-minute face-to-face inmate observations.

Learn more in this ongoing series.

The purpose of this website is to supply county jail inmates in Texas with potentially helpful resources. There is no intention to infer wrongs on the part of persons or entities.

–Guest Contributor