Christy Michelle Slayton was booked into Kaufman County Jail in Kaufman, Texas, on September 10, 2019. While still in the holding cell, Ms. Slayton, age 30, was discovered unresponsive. She was on life support until September 12 and died on September 14, four days after her incarceration.

Suicide prevention is one of the greatest concerns in correctional facilities. A study that was conducted by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) identified various strategies that could help to reduce incidents of custodial suicide. The following is more information:

Training

Comprehensive training on suicide prevention should be provided for all health and jail staff members on a recurring basis. Topics that should be covered in training should include:

• Times when a person is at a high risk for suicide
• How to avoid negative attitudes regarding suicide prevention
• Warning signs and symptoms, encompassing behavioral and verbal cues
• Identifying suicidal prisoners despite their denial of risk
• Why correctional environments exacerbate the potential for suicidal behavior

Adequate Staffing

It is not uncommon for correctional institutions to function with staff shortages. When there are staff vacancies in the area of mental health, inmates do not get the benefit of attentive, thoughtful, and comprehensive suicide risk assessments. Instead, cursory screenings are conducted, which can result in an increased risk of inmate suicide.

Learn more in this ongoing series.

The posts on the site are intended as potentially helpful resources for inmates in Texas county jails. There is no intention on this website to infer wrongs on the part of persons or entities.

–Guest Contributor