Alleged Non-Compliance with Rule §273.5(C)(1)-Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan

In the June 1, 2021, special jail inspection report previously mentioned, an inspector with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) cited Harrison County Jail for a second alleged violation of a minimum jail standard under Rule §273.5. The following is what is required under Rule §273.5(C)(1):

Whenever an inmate is booked into the jail, their name must be checked against the Texas Health and Human Services Commission CCQ system. In this way, the jailers can learn whether the inmate has ever received state mental health care or if it is known that he or she has a developmental or intellectual disability. An exception is if the inmate is being housed as a federal or out-of-state inmate on a contractual basis.

• The TCJS inspector reviewed documentation from March 1, 2021, in connection with the custodial death that occurred on that day. It was determined that the CCQ was not immediately run at the time of booking as required in minimum jail standards.

The custodial death report (CDR) prepared by the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office indicates that 38-year-old Larry David Hurt was booked into Harrison County Jail at 1:37 PM on March 1, 2021. He was pronounced deceased just a few hours later at 5:28 PM. In the next installment of this series, find out many details about what happened from the time of his arrest to his death. Such particulars suggest that it might have been helpful to have run the CCQ.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and this ongoing series.

The intention of this website and all added posts is to provide assistance to inmates who are now or were formerly detained in a municipal or county jail in Texas. Implicating individuals or institutions in acts of wrongdoing is never intended on this site.

–Guest Contributor