George William Zink was 57 years old when he died on February 15, 2023, in the custody of Tarrant County Jail in Fort Worth, Texas. He had been incarcerated for less than 3 months when he died of unknown causes. At intake, there was an indication that he appeared to be mentally ill. On the day he died, Mr. Zink was so weak he had to be brought to medical in a wheelchair, yet there was no indication on the custodial death report that he had ever received care up to that point.

Screening / Intake Form

The screening form is considered an important part of suicide prevention in Texas. Executive Director Brandon Wood with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) said that the form is each county’s opportunity to identify individuals that are potentially suicidal or mentally ill. He said, “After they are identified, they’re required to provide mental health services.”

Before the screening form was adopted as hopefully a way to avoid deaths like Sandra Bland at Waller County Jail, jails asked inmates to self-report medical issues, histories of mental health, or that they were mentally handicapped individuals. Inmates were to report voluntarily whether they felt depressed or suicidal.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this 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