Howard County, Texas Jail Fails State Inspection

The Howard County jail, in Big Spring, Texas, recently failed a Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”) inspection. The inspection occurred on October 7, 2021. The Howard County, Texas jail is now listed as being non-compliant with the TCJS.

The TCJS inspection report indicates five items of non-compliance. The jail’s fire inspection was 34 days overdue. Further, restraint chair documentation revealed that jail staff exceeded the required 15-minute observation checks by as little as one minute and by as many as five minutes, on multiple occasions. Inmate living areas were unsanitary with excess property and nuisance contraband throughout. There was also excess graffiti on the walls. The facility’s health department was four months overdue. Finally, there were a number of maintenance items which the jail needed to address. Hopefully, the Howard County, Texas jail will bring itself into compliance with minimum 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.