An inmate in a state outside Texas committed suicide in a county jail on Sunday, January 23, 2022. The 56-year-old man was discovered unresponsive at about 6:30 p.m. The jail staff immediately took measures to try to save the man’s life, but medical personnel declared him dead a short time after he was found. It appeared that the man had hung himself using some of his clothing. No foul play is suspected, and the custodial suicide is under investigation.

When an inmate has been identified as suicidal, the typical protocol is to issue clothing that can do no harm. The fact that the man who died on Sunday obviously did not have suicide prevention clothing does not signify that his suicide was very unusual. Suicide is the leading cause of death in jails and prisons across the nation. 

In Texas, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) requires jail staff to fill out a certain form whenever an inmate is booked into a county jail in Texas. The purpose of the form is to identify inmates who are at risk either because they do not have full possession of their mental faculties or they are a probable suicide risk. The jailers who handle intake screening are required to have additional training on how to identify, handle, document, and supervise mentally disabled and potentially suicidal inmates.

When these at-risk inmates have been identified, they are then sent into areas of the jail with others of the same classification. They are observed more frequently because additional supervision helps to save the lives of vulnerable individuals.

Learn more in this ongoing series.

On this website it is never intended for a person or organization to be implicated in acts of wrongdoing. Benefiting current and former inmates housed in Texas county jails by providing helpful information is the purpose of the posts on this site.

–Guest Contributor