Torry Lamont Newman was 46 years old when he died in the custody of Smith County Jail in Tyler, Texas, on February 18, 2022. The custodial death report (CDR) filed with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of Texas show that Mr. Newman’s cause of death was illness/natural causes. He died on the 22nd day of his incarceration.

Quincy Butler Commits Suicide in Smith County Jail in 2017

Back in 2017, Quincy Butler committed suicide while incarcerated in Smith County Jail. Mr. Butler was 44 years old, and he was booked into the jail on November 2, 2017. He was placed on suicide watch and was, therefore, observed by a jailer every 10 minutes. Jailers found him hanging in the cell on November 8, though it had been 9 minutes since the last face-to-face observation. Life-saving measures began, and Mr. Butler was transported to a nearby hospital. Tragically, he died on November 21, 2017, as a result of injuries from hanging himself.

Not long before the 2017 death of Quincy Butler, Smith County Jail took new measures for the express purpose of preventing inmate suicides. Instead of placing despondent or depressed and potentially suicidal inmates alone in isolation cells, the single cells began to be used for inmates proven to have violent tendencies. Multiple cameras and an additional window were added to a 12-person suicide prevention cell. It was believed that having additional eyes on suicidal prisoners could help stop them from killing themselves.

Learn more in Part 1 and this ongoing series.

Making inferences that persons or institutions have engaged in wrongdoing is never intended on this website. Posts are added on this site to help inmates now or formerly housed in Texas county jails.

–Guest Contributor