On April 20, 2022, Lorelei Then Palmore was booked into Grayson County Jail at 200 S. Crockett St in Sherman, Texas 75090. Tragically, at age 63, Ms. Palmore was pronounced dead on April 23, 2022, still in the jail’s custody.

The core function of jails is to manage inmate behavior, according to the National Institute of Corrections (NIC). In jails, historically, there has been a primary emphasis on physical containment as opposed to managing behavior through active supervision.

Direct Supervision

Two key elements make up direct supervision in county jails. Those components are the physical design of a jail and a strategy for inmate management. The ultimate goal of managing inmate behavior is to produce a jail environment that is safe and secure for staff, visitors, and inmates. It has been discovered through research that it is important to reduce physical barriers that hinder interaction between inmates and jail staff. Positive inmate behavior is promoted by ensuring clear sightlines in all areas of inmate housing units and also by incorporating appropriate design elements, furnishings, and fixtures.

When Lack of Supervision Ends in a Custodial Death

There are two kinds of threats in jails that can result in death if those threats are ignored. One is the threat of committing suicide. Jail staff members in all Texas county jails are required to be trained in suicide prevention. One thing that is stressed is that direct supervision of inmates is clearly a deterrent to suicide.

Another type of threat is one inmate saying he will harm another. In March 2022 in a county jail outside of Texas, a tragedy occurred when there was no heightening of supervision after one inmate threatened to harm another in shared housing.

For more information, see the coming installments of this ongoing series.

Making a suggestion that wrongdoing has occurred on the part of institutions or individuals is never intended on this website. The hope on this site is for each post to provide assistance to people in county jails, whether they are now or were previously jailed in Texas.

–Guest Contributor