Harrison County, Texas Jail Fails State Inspection
The Harrison County jail, in Marshall, Texas, failed a Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”) inspection in June 2021. The inspection was apparently as a result of an inmate death in the Harrison County, Texas jail on March 1, 2021. The special inspection report does not mention the name of the inmate.
First, the TCJS inspector determined that the jail violated a requirement related to, in our Texas civil rights law firm’s opinion, perhaps the most important intake form for all Texas county jails. The TCJS inspector determined, after reviewing written documentation from the March 1, 2021 custodial death, that the Screening Form for Suicide and Medical/Mental/Developmental Impairments was not completed in its entirety. Moreover, one or more jailers apparently did not document the fact that the inmate either refused or was unable to complete the form. This is a serious violation, as the purpose of the form is to help jailers determine if a person needs to be continuously monitored and/or receive immediate medical or mental health care.
The TCJS inspector also determined that the Harrison County jail, with regard to the inmate who passed away, did not run the Continuity of Care Query (“CCQ”) immediately upon intake. As with the intake form mentioned above, the CCQ is important to determine whether an inmate previously had certain mental health treatment. This assists in determining whether an inmate might be suicidal.
Without regard to what happened to the inmate in Harrison County, pre-trial detainees in Texas county jails have a constitutional right to receive reasonable medical care and mental health care, and to be protected from themselves and others when in jail. If an inmate dies as a result of suicide or denial of medical care, and a constitutional violation occurs, then certain surviving family members might have claims as a result of the death.
Dean Malone
Dean Malone