In San Antonio, Texas, Robert Cantu was booked into Bexar County Jail on September 20, 2020. According to details provided in the custodial death report on Mr. Cantu, he died the next day from the combined effects of a dilated enlarged heart and methamphetamine toxicity.

Per minimum jail standards set by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), inmates placed in a detoxification cell must be observed in face-to-face checks every 30 minutes maximum. To determine whether inmates need to be in a detox cell, jail staff members must make accurate classification assessments. This requires training and also applies to inmates who are at risk because they are mentally handicapped or potentially suicidal.

TCJS inspectors conduct annual jail inspections in order to ascertain whether Texas county jails are compliant with minimum jail standards. In a jail inspection report dated January 2021, a Texas jail was non-compliant in each of the areas touched upon in the above paragraph.

TCJS Inspector Notes on Non-Compliance

The jail cited for failing to comply with three Texas jail standards designed to protect inmates allegedly failed to comply with the following rules and the TCJS inspector wrote the following notes regarding his findings:

RULE §265.3-Observation During Holding 

• Documentation about face-to-face observations of inmates in detoxification cells shows that the observations exceeded the 30-minute intervals by a total of 1 to 30 minutes.

RULE §271.3-Training

• Classification duties are being performed by members of the jail staff who have not completed the mandatory 4 hours of classification training.

RULE §273.5 (a)(1)-Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan

• No documentation was provided by the administration at the jail showing that staff members received at least 4 hours of training in such matters as recognizing, supervising, documenting, and handling potentially suicidal or mentally disabled inmates. 

Learn more in this ongoing series.

There is no intention on this website of inferring wrongs on persons or entities. The posts provided are intended as resources beneficial to prisoners now or formerly housed in county jails in Texas.

–Guest Contributor