During a scheduled stay of fewer than four full days at League City jail in League City, Texas, 36-year-old Corey Paul Denton Davis died on July 31, 2021. The Custodial Death Report shows that  Mr. Davis exhibited mental health problems. EMS services were called when Mr. Davis began to suffer from apparent withdrawals the day after his arrival, but he refused to go to the hospital.

In Texas county jails, an intake procedure for inmates aims to ensure that mentally ill inmates receive needed mental care. They are housed in an area where increased supervision is mandated.

Minimum jail standards for the operation of county jails in Texas are established by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). The Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan described in RULE §273.5 is to be developed for each jail in coordination with mental and medical health officials.

Requirements Under the Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan

A history check of mental health/intellectual and developmental disabilities is to be conducted for each inmate at the time of intake. This research begins with data in the Texas Health and Human Services Commission CCQ system, where it will show up if an inmate:

• Has been provided with state mental healthcare;
• Has a known intellectual disability, or
• Has a developmental disability.

Exceptions to this requirement include if the inmate is an out-of-state or federal inmate on a contractual basis.

Learn more in this continuing series.

It is not intended on this site to infer misdeeds on the part of persons or institutions. Each of this website’s posts is intended as a resource of potential assistance to inmates now or previously housed in a Texas county jail.

–Guest Contributor