Dimmit County, Texas Jail Fails Inspection

The Dimmit County jail, in Carrizo Springs, Texas, is now listed as being non-compliant by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”). The non-compliance occurred as a result of an April 8, 2021 inspection.

The Dimmit County jail’s failures are troubling. The TCJS inspector determined that Dimmit County jail staff are not consistently notifying a judge within 12 hours, or notifying mental health officials as required by the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Such notification is necessary when, as a result of intake screening, an inmate is identified who is mentally disabled and/or potentially suicidal. If a jail fails to notify proper officials, and take appropriate action, unfortunately, we have seen this result in far too many cases in suicide of and/or significant injury to the inmate from self-harm.

Second, the TCJS inspector found that jailers were not conducting 15-minute face-to-face observations of inmates placed in restraints. This is a requirement of TCJS minimum standards. Such standards are in place to assure bare minimum regulation to assist jails in operating safely.

The United States Constitution protects the rights of pre-trial detainees in Texas jails to receive reasonable medical care, to be treated humanely, and to not be the subject of self-harm when self-harm tendencies are known. If jailers violate the United States Constitution, and a person is injured as a result, then such jailers can be liable to the injured person or surviving family members of a person who is deceased. These cases are usually filed in federal court.

Written By: Dean Malone

Dean Malone

Dean Malone is the founder of Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a jail neglect civil rights law firm. Mr. Malone earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at Dallas, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA, and from Baylor University School of Law with a general civil litigation concentration. Mr. Malone served in several staff positions for the Baylor Law Review, including executive editor. Mr. Malone is an experienced trial lawyer, trying a number of cases to jury verdict and also handling arbitrations through final hearing. He heads the jail neglect section of his law firm, in which lawyers litigate cases involving serious injury and death resulting from jail neglect and abuse. Lawyers frequently refer cases to Mr. Malone due to his focus on this very complicated civil rights practice area.