Sometime during the 15 days total that Nicholas Orion Vanwyhe was incarcerated in Travis County Jail in Austin, Texas, it was recorded that he made suicidal statements. He was pronounced dead on April 30, 2021. Mr. Vanwyhe, at age 39, had hanged himself with his bedsheet.

Inspectors with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) inspect every Texas county jail each year. Reports are made public on jails discovered to be in non-compliance with minimal standards for jail operation. As mentioned previously, supervision is the leading deterrent to custodial suicides. In spite of this essential element of protecting suicidal prisoners, failing to meet jail standards with regard to prisoner supervision is not unusual among county jails. The following is an example from a Jail Inspection Report on non-compliance dated June 16, 2021.

CHAPTER 265-ADMISSION; RULE §265.3-Observation During Holding

This rule addresses supervision of inmates confined in detoxification cells and holding cells. Intervals for making face-to-face observations of inmates in this area cannot exceed 30 minutes. This doubles the amount of supervision given in comparison with prisoners in the general area of the jail. Among the reasons is that inmates appropriately placed in these cells have been identified as suicide risks.

• The inspector noted that observations of prisoners in holding cells are not observed every 30 minutes at most as required. Routinely, the mandatory timeframe for observation is exceeded by 1 to 32 minutes.

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

Posts provided on this website are intended to assist inmates now in county jails in Texas as well as those who were previously incarcerated. There is no intention on this website to imply that people or institutions have engaged in wrongdoing.

–Guest Contributor