Duane Audwin Durley Dies After Being in Jefferson County, Texas Jail

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, in Beaumont, Texas, filed a report regarding the death of inmate Duane Audwin Durley. Mr. Durley was 62 years old at the time of his death. We provide information we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of wrongdoing against anyone.

The report appears to indicate that Mr. Durley’s initial incarceration was at 3:49 p.m. on October 29, 2022. It also indicates that Mr. Durley passed away on November 12, 2022 at 1:03 p.m. The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:

“Inmate Duane Audwin Durley was sent to Baptist Hospital on 11/10/2022 @ 23:47. He was complaining of pain in his feet, legs, and chest. He was admitted and was assigned to room #432 in the North Tower of Baptist Hospital. Inmate Durley remained in room #432 until he passed away on 11/12/2022 @ 13:05.”

The report provides no information at all about how often, if at all, Mr. Durley was observed while in his cell, or any medical treatment he was receiving prior to having issues addressed in the summary above. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards requires certain periodic observation of inmates, and that requirement is only a bare minimum standard. The United States Constitution requires jailers and others working in jails to provide reasonable medical care to inmates. If such care is not provided, and a person in a Texas county jail suffers or dies as a result, then certain surviving family members may be able to file a federal civil rights lawsuit. Our Texas jail neglect law firm is handling a number of such cases across Texas, including a currently-pending lawsuit against Jefferson County for failure to protect an inmate.

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.