Clay County, Texas Inmate Dies
The Clay County Sheriff’s Department, in Henrietta, Texas, recently filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas. The report was regarding the death of Scott Allen Payne. Mr. Payne only 46 years of age at the time of his death. Information in this post was obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone related to Mr. Payne’s death.
On September 28, 2019, at approximately 5:19 p.m., a Clay County detention officer was issuing breakfast trays to three inmates housed in tank 69. Tank 69 was a multi occupancy cell that can house up to eight inmates. In our experience, there is a common area in such a cell, with individual cells off of the common area.
One of Mr. Payne’s fellow inmates discovered that Mr. Payne had committed suicide using a ligature. Apparently, Mr. Payne had been deceased for such a length of time that resuscitative attempts were not made.
An autopsy was conducted by The Southwestern Institute of Forensics at Dallas. Further, a Texas Ranger is conducting an investigation.
The report indicates that Mr. Payne’s last documented movement was at 11:59 p.m. on September 27, 2019, and that such documented movement was through viewing a video recording. Thus, it appears that face-to-face checks of Mr. Payne had not been made for some time, if at all.
The report indicates that Mr. Payne made suicidal statements. It also indicates that he exhibited mental health problems.
Without regard to what occurred to Mr. Payne, Texas jails must comply with constitutional standards regarding suicidal inmates. Jailers cannot be deliberately indifferent to known suicidal tendencies. Further, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards requires certain periodic observations of potential suicidal inmates. If the constitutional rights of a deceased person are violated, some surviving family members can bring claims pursuant to federal law, in federal Court.
Dean Malone
Dean Malone