A detention officer at Tarrant County Jail reported on February 15, 2023, that inmate George William Zink had not been eating his lunch or dinner. An RN at the jail asked that Mr. Zink be escorted to the medical floor. A wheelchair had to be used to get Mr. Zink to medical. And once he was in the medical unit, medical personnel requested a MedStar ambulance.

Myths About Suicide Continued

MYTH 4: Suicide usually happens suddenly and with no warning.

• FACT: Most people who are suicidal give clues and exhibit warnings that suicide is on their mind. They usually have a careful plan though out for killing themselves. A few suicides are impulsive in nature and are more typical among people with impulse disorders and adolescents.

MYTH 5: If you talk to someone about suicide it puts the idea in their head and causes them to hurt themselves.

• FACT: If it is not already in a person’s head to commit suicide, you cannot put the idea there. The fact is that talking about their thoughts can be a tremendous source of relief to people who are considering suicide.

MYTH 6: It’s easy to tell if a person is “just manipulating” or really suicidal.

• FACT: Sometimes, even the most experienced correctional mental health experts have difficulty discerning whether a particular inmate is just “manipulating” for a selfish reason such as getting special attention or really intends to harm himself or herself.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this ongoing series for more information.

Our purpose in posting resources is to help Texas inmates who have been incarcerated in local county and municipal jails in the state. There is never an intention of implicating a person or entity in connection with wrongdoing.

–Guest Contributor