After being incarcerated at Potter County Jail in Amarillo, Texas, for two weeks, 37-year-old Genaro Rocha was discovered in his isolation cell behaving bizarrely. Mr. Rocha was uncooperative with jail staff when he was removed from his cell so that it could be cleaned. Mr. Rocha was restrained, and other events were recorded, including that his death occurred on August 5, 2019, two days after removal from his cell.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) identifies at-risk inmates as those who are potentially suicidal, mentally ill, or exhibiting bizarre behavior. These inmates are placed in housing where increased supervision is provided. Whereas inmates in the general population are observed in face-to-face checks every 60 minutes at most, the mentally ill, potentially suicidal, and other at-risk inmates are checked every 30 minutes at most.

Supervision is considered one of the most effective ways to ensure the safety of prisoners. Yet, during annual county jail inspections, it is not unusual for jails to be found non-compliant regarding these minimum jail standards.

TCJS tightened the security of inmates by requiring that every jail install a device that records face-to-face observations, providing additional evidence of supervision in addition to written documentation. The installation of these electronic devices was due to be completed by August 31, 2020, at the latest. Jail inspection reports have, at times, reflected that the new record-keeping systems were used to verify that minimum jail standards were not upheld with regards to inmate supervision.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this three-part series.

Posts are provided on this site to help county jail inmates in Texas. Implying that wrongs have occurred on the part of persons or entities is never intended on this website.

–Guest Contributor