Hudspeth County, Texas Jail Fails State Inspection – Listed as Non-Compliant

The Hudspeth County jail, in Sierra Blanca, Texas, is now listed as being non-compliant by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”). This occurred as a result of a TCJS inspection on January 5, 2021. The TCJS inspector found that the Hudspeth County jail violated six minimum jail standards.

The inspector determined that none of the intercoms on the old jail side worked as designed. Further, quarterly fire drill training was not conducted and documented. The monthly equipment checklist and quarterly fire prevention checklist were not completed and maintained for review as required.

Moreover, jailers did not complete the top of the initial inmate classification form. Thus, the inspector was unable to verify if inmates were classified before they were housed. Jail administration also could not provide a classification audit. The inspector also could not verify that inmates were provided at least 24 hours’ written notice before signing an inmate waiver or before sanctions were administered for claimed violations.

The final minimal jail standard which was violated was that the inspector was unable to verify that suicide prevention training was conducted in accordance with the approved operational plan. This is a serious violation and one that we see far too often in Texas jail death cases. We have and are handling a number of jail suicide cases in Texas, and we have found that suicide training is critical. Hopefully, Hudspeth County will bring its jail into compliance with TCJS 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.