A Prisoner at Cherokee County Jail in Rusk, Texas, Dies of Unknown Causes
On Sunday night, December 10, 2017, a prisoner at the Cherokee County Jail in Rusk, Texas, died. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement. According to Sheriff James Campbell, the prisoner was transported to a hospital in Jacksonville, where the official pronouncement of the death was made. It appears to be a fatality resulting from natural causes. However, an autopsy will be performed and an official cause of death will be determined; this process could take several weeks, Campbell said. The death is being investigated by the Texas Rangers, which is standard procedure when a custodial death occurs. The prisoner’s name was not announced because family members had not yet been notified.
Another standard procedure when a custodial death occurs is that the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) must be notified. TCJS will also conduct an investigation. Documentation and videos will be reviewed, to determine whether mandatory procedures were being followed at the time the incident took place.
An inspection of Cherokee County Jail was conducted on September 27, 2016. As a result, the jail was cited for allegedly failing to complete an intake screening form which involved notification of medical personnel and a magistrate. Intake screenings are considered to be important because they help to determine whether a person may be mentally ill or at risk for committing suicide. Those who give some sort of indication that they may be at risk are observed face-to-face by a jailer every 30 minutes, whereas the general population is observed every hour at most.
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