The custodial death report (CDR) for 37-year-old Derrick Richard Allen indicates that he was found unresponsive in his cell at Jefferson County Jail on September 18, 2022, which was his sixth day of incarceration. Lifesaving measures began immediately, and he was then transported to a nearby hospital. Tragically, Mr. Allen died the following day in the emergency room at Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas in Beaumont, Texas.

Do Mentally Disabled Inmates in Texas County and Municipal Jails Get the Health Care Services They Need? Continued

To help mentally disabled inmates in Houston, Texas, jails, Harris County also utilizes mental health court liaisons. These liaisons are assigned to each of the district courts and a few misdemeanor courts. This strategy has been excellent for ensuring that defendants are provided with continuity of care when they are released on bail, on some form of supervision, or get a pre-trial release.

The liaisons are funded by Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments (TCOOMMI). To ensure that offenders are provided with the appropriate mental health treatment and supervision once released from jail, the liaisons work hand-in-hand with the courts, parole or probation staff, and the New Start program. This ensures that the continuum of care between the jail and the community has minimal gaps.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this continuing series.

Providing resources of benefit to local inmates in Texas county and municipal jails is the purpose of this website. Insinuating that organizations or people have participated in misdeeds is never intended on this site.

–Guest Contributor