A 41-year-old woman in a county jail outside of Texas who had been sentenced to 30 days in jail died last week, and suicide is the suspected cause of death. The statement from the jail was that they do all they can to keep inmates safe. They even provide 40 hours of in-house mental health care each week. Even though the woman who died was serving a 30-day sentence, it turns out that she also faced a felony charge from another county.

Suicide is the leading cause of death in county jails across the US.  In Texas, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) is in charge of operations in the state’s county jails. Suicide prevention is very much a part of requirements laid out for jail staff members in minimum jail standards. 

Supervision is recognized as the leading deterrent to suicide. Strangely enough, at-risk patients who are potentially suicidal are often, if not virtually always, placed in single cells. Evidence indicates that it is safer for inmates considered vulnerable to suicide not to be alone.

TCJS requires strict supervision of potentially suicidal inmates. They must be observed in increments no greater than every 30 minutes.  The timing must also be staggered so that inmates are not sure when jailers will be back around to check on them.

As important as supervision is, it is always concerning when Texas jails are non-compliant with minimum jail standards involving supervision. When TCJS inspectors conduct annual jail inspections, they check written documentation on observation of inmates with electronic records that are automatically made. 

Learn more in this continuing series.

Making an inference of wrongdoing having occurred on the part of a person or entity is never intended on this website. Each post is intended as a helpful resource to inmates currently or previously detained in a Texas county jail.

–Guest Contributor