On March 22, 2022, an inmate was booked into a Texas county jail and it was noted during intake that he exhibited medical problems. He died five days later, and the Medical Examiner said the medical cause of death was diabetic ketoacidosis. Not much is said in the custodial death report’s (CDR’s) summary of how the death occurred.

On March 27, 2022, a detention officer was conducting rounds and found the decedent unresponsive. Medical and jail staff responded. The inmate was transported to a clinic, where life-saving measures were continued. The fire department and paramedics responded to the clinic and determined the decedent was unresponsive and pulseless. At 4:40 PM, the inmate was pronounced deceased by a medical doctor at the clinic.

After the inspectors with the Texas Commission for Jail Standards (TCJS) conducted a jail inspection following the custodial death, the county jail was cited for noncompliance with two minimum jail standards. They follow below and in the coming installments of this series.

RULE §273.2~Health Services Plan

Part 12 of the above-referenced minimum jail standard states that jails must provide procedures that shall require that a qualified medical professional shall review as soon as possible any prescription medication an inmate is taking when the inmate is taken into custody. These procedures shall include providing each prescription medication that a qualified medical professional or mental health professional determines is necessary for the care, treatment, or stabilization of an inmate with mental illness.

Learn what the note from the inspector said about this rule violation. Also see Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this continuing series.

Helping inmates now or previously detained in a municipal or county jail in Texas is one of the purposes of this website. There is never any intention of suggesting that any individual or organization was engaged in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor