On June 27, 2022, the Denton County Sheriff’s Office filed an amended custodial death report (CDR) for Helen Renee Jackson. Ms. Jackson died in the custody of the Denton County Jail on December 29, 2021. The address of the county jail is 127 N. Woodrow Lane, Denton, TX 76205.

Denton County Jail Fails in a Jail Standard at the Time of a Custodial Death

In a jail inspection report dated March 8-10, 2022, Denton County Jail is cited for five alleged instances of non-compliance with minimum jail standards. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) establishes the operational requirements of county jails. Annual inspections are the primary method of providing oversight.

One of the jail standards that was allegedly violated involves face to face observations of inmates. Alarmingly, it was discovered that an inmate who died had allegedly not been observed in the manner required prior to the fatality. More details follow.

Denton County Jail is Non-Compliant with RULE §275.1-Regular Observation by Jailers

In RULE §275.1 of the Texas Administrative Code, jailors must perform face-to-face observations of inmates at specified times. In the general population of inmates, they must be observed in staggered time increments, though the maximum time between observations must be no longer than 60 minutes. In areas where the inmates are housed in high-risk cells, observations are required every 30 minutes. All Texas county jails were somewhat recently required to install electronic sensors or cameras outside the high-risk cells, and their deadline was August 31, 2020. The purpose of the electronic equipment is to automatically videotape all observations of inmates.

• During the inspection by a TCJS inspector, video documentation was reviewed. The video footage shows that jailers did not conduct a proper face-to-face check of the prisoner in Holding Cell 1. Instead of actually seeing the inmate inside the holding cell, the staff member merely scanned the electronic tag. The inmate suffered a medical emergency that ended in death while in Holding Cell 1.

Helping Texas city and county jail inmates, whether now or previously detained, is the purpose of this website. Implicating that individuals or institutions have been involved in misdeeds is never intended on this site.

–Guest Contributor