The custodial death report filed by the Wharton County Sheriff’s Department about the death of Henry Donell Stephens provides a detailed narrative of care he received beginning on January 12th, 2021, at Wharton County Jail in Wharton, Texas. At that time, Mr. Stephens reportedly complained about heartburn. He died on the 15th of January after being transported to a nearby hospital emergency room. 

The suicide prevention plan applicable to county jails in Texas is included in the portion of the Texas Administrative Code about health services. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) provides all guidelines for the operation of county jails in the state. Because suicide is among the top two leading causes of death in virtually every jail in the U.S., it is recognized as a potential threat to virtually every inmate.

In order to help protect inmates who are either mentally disabled or potentially suicidal, appropriate training of jail staff members is essential. Every member of the jail staff is trained on procedures for recognizing potentially suicidal and/or mentally disabled inmates and how to supervise, document, and handle them. Any member of a jail’s staff whose responsibility includes intake screening must also have supplemental training in that regard.

Determinations made during the intake of prisoners affect where they are housed and the level of supervision they receive. 

Learn more in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. 

There is no intention on this site to make an implication of wrongdoing about anyone or any institution. Each of this website’s posts is intended as a resource to help inmates now or previously detained in a Texas county jail.

 –Guest Contributor