The death of 65-year-old Rickey Paul Smith in Dumas, Texas, has been under investigation by the Texas Rangers. Mr. Smith was booked into Moore County Jail on July 25, 2021, and he died by suicide on the following day.

Each year, inspectors with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) inspect every county jail in the state. Instances of non-compliance are published in Jail Inspection Reports made available to the public. The following are examples of Texas County jails allegedly failing to provide supervision of inmates at the level required by TCJS. In addition to supervising inmates to prevent suicide, as mentioned previously, observing inmates is also for safety purposes.

Non-Compliance in Texas County Jails: RULE §273.6-Restraints

Under RULE §273.6-Restraints, any inmate who is being held in a restraint of any kind must be personally checked by a jailer or medical personnel every 15 minutes at most. There is a danger that an inmate’s circulation could be cut off from his or her extremities.

Jail Inspection Report Dated 6/7/2021:

• The inspector determined that on two separate occasions in April 2021, face-to-face observations of inmates who had been placed in restraints were not conducted.

Jail Inspection Report Dated 4/8/2021:

• During an annual inspection, it was determined that the 15-minute face-to-face observations on prisoners placed in restraints were not conducted as required in TCJS minimum jail standards.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this ongoing series.

The posts on this website are provided to assist inmates in Texas county jails. There is no intention of implying that persons or organizations have been involved in wrongs.

–Guest Contributor