Ariel Ledesma died of a head injury in Galveston County Jail at age 47 on December 14, 2020. He had been incarcerated for 16 days at that time. The summary of the cause of death in the custodial death report indicates that jail staff was attempting to secure the cell as Mr. Ledesma tried to exit and he was pushed backward and struck his head.

Although it is required that jail staff members help to protect inmates against violence, it is not uncommon for inmates to become victims of brutality. Numerous studies have found that when jail staff members are perceived as diligently monitoring the activities of inmates, assaultive behavior is reduced.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has provided minimum jail standards that include specific time frames for supervising inmates with face-to-face contact. The following is from the Texas Administrative Code.

TITLE 37; PART 9; CHAPTER 275-Supervision of Inmates; RULE §275.1

Around the clock, each Texas county jail must be staffed with the appropriate number of jailers. Face-to-face observation of inmates is required as follows:

• All inmates must be observed at least once every 60 minutes at most.
• The requirement for supervising inmates who are potentially suicidal, mentally ill, assaultive, or who have behaved in a bizarre manner is to make a face-to-face observation every half hour.

Learn more in this ongoing series.

The purpose of this website’s posts is to help prisoners currently and formerly detained in county jails in the state of Texas. It is never intended on this site to suggest that individuals or organizations engaged in wrongdoing.

–Guest Contributor