On April 27, 2021, Georgia Kay Baldwin became a Tarrant County Jail inmate in Austin, Texas. She was discovered unresponsive in single-cell 71A28 on the morning of 9/14/2021. Exactly one hour later, Ms. Baldwin, age 52, was pronounced dead.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) cited non-compliance with Texas Administrative Code Chapter 273-Health Services, RULE §273.5 (1). Details follow.

RULE §273.5 (1)

The sheriff or operator of each county jail in Texas must develop a suicide prevention plan and implement it. The plan must be created in coordination with mental health and medical professionals and be approved by TCJS.

• Members of each jail staff must have adequate training so that they are equipped to recognize, supervise, document, and handle potentially suicidal inmates as well as those who are mentally disabled. Staff members who have the responsibility of intake screening must also have supplemental training.

Cited for Non-Compliance to RULE §273.5 (1)

An inspector with TCJS states that the administration at the Texas county jail cited for noncompliance on May 21, 2021, was not able to provide rosters or certificates indicating that jail staff members had received suicide prevention training. There was no way to verify whether suicide prevention training was provided in accordance with the mental health operational plan for the jail that had been approved.

Learn more in Part 1 and this continuing series.

There is never an intention to suggest that persons or institutions have participated in wrongdoing. This website offers posts as helpful resources for inmates currently or previously housed in a county jail in Texas.

It is not intended to make allegations of wrongdoing, whether on the part of an individual or an entity. Each of this website’s posts is added as a potentially helpful resource to benefit prisoners detained in Texas county jails, whether now or previously incarcerated.

–Guest Contributor