On February 24, 2022, the Medina County Sheriff’s Office filed a custodial death report with the Office of the Attorney General of Texas. The inmate who had died at Medina County Jail in Hondo, Texas, was David Lee Tumey. Mr. Tumey was in a detox cell when he was discovered in an unresponsive state on February 13, 2022. The 54-year-old died about two hours later on the same day. The cause of death is unknown and pending autopsy results.

Alleged Non-Compliance at Rains County Jail

Rains County Jail is located at 313 W N Street in Emory, Texas. When the annual jail inspection was conducted by an inspector with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), the jail was found to be non-compliant with regard to important issues that can affect inmate safety. Details follow.

RULE §265.3 – Observation During Holding

This rule about observing inmates face-to-face while they are in a holding cell requires that the checks must be made in intervals not exceeding every 30 minutes.

The TCJS inspector said that he reviewed observation records and found that inmates are being checked in the holding cells every 60 minutes instead of the required 30-minute timeframe that’s required.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, and this continuing series.

On this website, intimating that wrongs have occurred on the part of persons or institutions is never an intention. Helping prisoners who are currently or were previously incarcerated in a county jail in Texas is the purpose of posts on this site.

–Guest Contributor