A Smith County Jail Inmate is Kept in a Holding Cell for 192 Hours aka 8 Days

When there is no place else to put a new inmate, a common practice is to keep him or her in a holding cell longer than what is allowed by minimum jail standards. Recent documentation related to a Smith County Jail Inspection Report indicates that one inmate was held in a holding cell in the Tyler TX jail for 8 days or 192 hours. Overpopulation is a presumed reason for the violation.

The director for the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), Brandon Wood, stated that overcrowding violations have been increasing across the state. A slow judicial system is a primary issue driving the problem. Wood stated that basic commission requirements should not be difficult for county jails to maintain. When they are, he suggests that hiring new leadership is a strategy that seems to yield drastic improvements in jail conditions.

Smith County Jail is Cited for Failing to Comply with Inmate Observation Requirements

Rule §273.6(3)-Restraints. Under Health Services, Smith County Jail allegedly failed to ensure timely documented observation of inmates who were held in restraint chairs. The observations must be conducted in intervals not to exceed every 15 minutes, and they include an assessment of the circulation to the inmate’s extremities and security of the restraints.

• The inspector reviewed the restraint chair documentation and found non-compliance with the 15-minute observation requirement. The time was repeatedly exceeded by anywhere from 1 to 10 minutes.

The purpose of this website is to supply inmates in Texas with helpful information, whether those inmates are currently or were previously detained in a county or municipal jail in the state. Making implications that entities or persons have been involved in misdeeds is never intended on this site.

–Guest Contributor