In the summer of 2019 at a Texas jail, an inmate who was arrested for public intoxication died about three weeks later; and it has been designated a custodial death. As with all custodial deaths, the Texas Rangers and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) conducted an investigation. The activities within the jail that precede an inmate’s death are scrutinized. The following are some of the details with regard to the above-referenced custodial death.

When the inmate was booked into jail, he was screened but was allegedly too intoxicated to sign anything at that time. The inmate was placed in a detox cell in order to sober up. Without the knowledge of jail staff, the inmate began coughing up blood, which he spit into a Styrofoam cup. No staff members were advised about the blood and it was determined that he would wipe it up and flush it down the toilet. The inmate himself did not advise this staff that he was having a health issue.

Not long after the detainee was placed in the detox cell, food and liquid were provided to him, though it was a few hours after evening chow. The following morning, the inmate ate almost all the food on his breakfast tray. That afternoon, the inmate was instructed to blow into an intoxilyzer for a reading on his blood alcohol content (BAC).

Read Part 2 about this custodial death to learn the series of events in the jail that led up to the inmate’s transfer to an emergency room.

A jail can be held liable if it is determined that an unconstitutional practice, policy, or custom caused a custodial death.

The purpose of this post and all posts on this website is to provide information. There is no intention to suggest or imply wrongdoing or misconduct on the part of any person or institution.

–Guest Contributor