Freestone County Jail Fails TCJS Inspection – Now Listed as Non-Compliant

The Freestone County, Texas jail in Fairfield, Texas, was once again cited by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards for violations. Freestone County is now listed as a non-compliant jail by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”).

The TCJS inspected the Freestone County jail on or about March 13, 2019. The report indicates five items which did not comply with TCJS standards. While all items are important, two items are particularly troublesome as it relates to the safety of inmates and common issues with prisoners in Texas jails.

The report indicates that Freestone County was unable to provide any documentation whatsoever, by jail administration, that jail staff are receiving the 60 minutes of suicide prevention training annually. This suicide prevention training, which is in accordance with an approved operation plan, is critical. Texas jails have a constitutional obligation to protect inmates who are likely to commit suicide.

Moreover, aside from being able to recognize suicidal inmates, jails have an obligation to provide reasonable medical and mental health care. Part of that obligation includes periodic observations of inmates. As to inmates who have no known issues, the TCJS requires face-to-face observations no less than once every 60 minutes. However, when TCJS reviewed observation logs in Freestone County, it was clear that jailers were exceeding the 60-minute observation interval, continually, by up to as long as 200 minutes. Hopefully, Freestone County will come into compliance with TCJS standards.

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.