Mental Health Issues

Inmates at many county jails suffer from issues related to mental health, and that fact has contributed to a disproportionate risk of custodial suicide. A pattern has emerged, however, that reveals that the risk of suicide is greatly heightened in the first days of incarceration.

At the county jail whose custodial death records are in discussion since Part 5 of this series, when an inmate was admitted in 2015, he informed jail staff of his psychiatric problems. In addition, the inmate’s wife said that he was suicidal. Within five days of incarceration, the inmate was assaulted by another detainee. Five days after that, the inmate with psychiatric issues used a jail-issued town to hang himself.

In 2018, an inmate was booked into the jail who had a history of attempting suicide. That man was booked, beaten, and then committed suicide within a three-day period.

A prevailing sentiment among law enforcement officials and jail deputies is that jail is a detention facility and yet is expected to function as a psych ward. It is a tremendous challenge for sheriff’s offices throughout the US.

At the county jail being highlighted, ten suicides were committed in a recent six-year period. Half of those suicides occurred within the first five days of being booked into jail and the other half occurred within the first 14 days of incarceration.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and continuing installments of this series about jails in a state outside of Texas with high rates of custodial deaths.

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–Guest Contributor