Edwards County, Texas Jail Fails State Inspection

The Edwards County Jail, in Rocksprings, Texas, recently failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). The Edwards County Jail is now listed as being non-compliant by the TCJS at the TCJS website.

The Edwards County Jail violated a minimum state standard related to veteran arrestees. A minimum jail standard in Texas, designed to protect our veterans, requires each sheriff and jail operator in Texas to investigate and verify the veteran status of each prisoner using a specific database. The TCJS inspector found that the Edwards County, Texas jail was not using the Veteran’s Reentry Search Service system. In fact, no VRSS verifications had been completed in the prior 12 months.

Aside from the listed area of noncompliance, the TCJS inspector learned, after reviewing Edwards County Jail life safety records, that the quarterly fire prevention checklist had not been completed this year. The Edwards County Jail also did not have an ADA compliance evaluation on file. Finally, the inspector noted multiple missing drain covers and three cells marked as “out of order.” Jail administration were required to submit to the TCJS photos depicting repairs as soon as they were completed. If the jail failed to restore the cells, the jail could be found as, once again, non-compliant.

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.