At Bowie County Jail in Texarkana, Texas, there was a custodial suicide on July 6, 2019. On his third day in the jail, 48-year-old inmate Michael Lowell Rodden was discovered in his cell hanging by his neck.

The matter of suicide prevention is addressed by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), the organization that dictates how county jails in Texas operate. During annual jail inspections, requirements that help prevent suicides are often discovered to have been in non-compliance. For example, the following is information about non-compliance reflected on a March 4, 2021, jail inspection report.

RULE §275.1 – Regular Observation by Jailers

This rule applies to the important observations of inmates who are known to be potentially suicidal. Jailers are required to observe at-risk inmates face-to-face every 30 minutes at most. The following are notes from the TCJS inspector reflecting alleged non-compliance with this standard.  

• It was determined during the review of the half-hour face-to-face observations in the separation cells that on numerous occasions the time frame was exceeded by staff members by anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes.

The following alleged violation of requirements was reflected in a January 29, 2021, jail inspection report.

RULE §273.5 – Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan

Part of suicide prevention is to train staff members on procedures for recognizing, supervising, handling, and documenting potentially suicidal inmates. For those who are responsible to conduct intake screening, supplemental training must be provided.

• The administration at the jail was unable to provide documentation rosters indicating that suicide prevention training had been provided to jail staff members, as required.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this three-part series for more information.

This website purposes to assist Texas county jail inmates, whether formerly or currently incarcerated. It is never intended on this site to denote that persons or institutions have engaged in misdeeds of any sort.

–Guest Contributor