When 34-year-old Julian Dena was in the booking process at Bexar County Jail in San Antonio, Texas, an officer saw that he swallowed a white substance presumed to be drugs. No action was taken to address the potential for an overdose. Within hours, Dena went into extreme distress and was transported to a hospital, where he died a few days later on July 30, 2020.

Continuing from the previous installment, the following are details about a minimum jail standard and details of a jail’s non-compliance. It is appropriate to be concerned that any jail would fail to meet requirements regarding the issue of supervision. Studies show that supervision is the most effective way to prevent custodial deaths. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in Texas county jails, just as suicide is prevalent in jails throughout the nation. The rate of suicide in jails is significantly higher than it is among the population that is not behind bars.

Chapter 275 – Supervision of Inmates, Rule §275.1

At all hours of the day and night, each jail facility must have the appropriate number of jail staff members. Established procedures for documenting face-to-face observations of all inmates must be followed. The general population must be observed every 60 minutes at most. In other areas of jail facilities where inmates are housed because of potentially suicidal behavior, mental illness, or demonstrations of bizarre behavior, inmates must be observed every 30 minutes at most.

• According to an inspector with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, documentation showed that observations of inmates were not performed every hour at most, as required, among the general jail population. In areas where inmates are classified as being at risk, the required 30-minute inmate checks were not performed as required, either.

See Part 1 of this continuing series.

The posts on this website are offered as helpful resources to prisoners currently or previously incarcerated in Texas county jails and their families. There is never an intention to imply misdeeds on the part of persons or entities.

–Guest Contributor