Ryan O’Shea was only 35 years old when he committed suicide at the Bexar County Jail in San Antonio, Texas. A deputy entered O’Shea’s cell after noticing his food had not been touched. The decedent was discovered hanging by his neck from a bedsheet.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) addresses inmate suicide by adding measures for suicide prevention in the mandatory guideline for Texas county jails. Making sure that inmates are routinely and frequently given face-to-face supervision is of key importance and yet these are often the minimum jail standards found to be violated when the jails are inspected by TCJS each year.

As a way of verifying the required face-to-face checks of potentially suicidal and mentally ill inmates, TCJS added a new requirement that all jails were supposed to have adhered to no later than August 31, 2020. That requirement is found in the following rule.

Texas Administrative Code TITLE 37, Part 9, Chapter 275, RULE §275.1 – Regular Observation by Jailers

• Installation of either electronic sensors or cameras is required where inmates in high-risk groups of cells or cells are located. The equipment must be able to record the personal observation of inmates that are required every 30 minutes at most or every 15 minutes at most, depending on the situation. Installation is required to be in place not later than the 31st of August 2020.

See Part 1 and this ongoing series.

This website aims to assist inmates currently or formerly incarcerated in county jails in Texas. There is never an intent on this site to imply that individuals or institutions have engaged in improprieties.

–Guest Contributor