Goliad County Jail in Goliad, Texas, is Cited for One Alleged Jail Standards Violation
Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) conducted a jail inspection of Goliad County Jail in Goliad, Texas, this year and released a Jail Inspection Report on November 17, 2017. The role of TCJS in conducting jail inspections is to determine whether jails are meeting the state’s minimum jail standards. If there is a custodial death, a special investigation is conducted in connection to the death. In the case of Goliad County Jail, they were cited for one alleged violation of jail standards. Details follow.
Every jail facility in Texas must first consult with either the Texas Commission on Fire Protection or the local fire department and then develop and implement a written Fire Prevention Plan. That plan must then be approved by TCJS. The fire hazard and fire prevention inspection checklist must be evaluated at least every calendar quarter. In addition, a local fire official must inspect the facility every year. Investigators with TCJS say that the Goliad County Jail has not had an annual inspection that was certified by a fire official since March 3, 2016. This is an alleged violation of minimum jail standards.
One of the jail standards frequently cited in minimum jail standards reports in Texas involves checking on prisoners at certain intervals. At El Paso County Jail in El Paso, Texas, Roberto Gallegos, age 58, died on September 16, 2017, when he was in an isolation cell. Due to health problems he had been suffering from, detention officers were supposed to check on Gallegos every 30 minutes. Texas Rangers and TCJS conducted an investigation of the jail and found that two detention officers allegedly altered jail documents to reflect welfare checks on Gallegos that they did not make. The officers were arrested in connection with those alleged actions.
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