Records show that Jeremy Alan Renkel was booked into Harris County Jail in Houston, Texas, on May 7th, 2020. Just over a year later on May 30, 2021, Mr. Renkel was found on the floor of his cell in an unresponsive state. He had no pulse and was pronounced dead soon after at a local hospital.

Another jail inspection report released in October 2021 reflects non-compliance of a county jail in Texas regarding an issue involving neglect of inmate medical care.

RULE §273.6 (3) – Restraints

This Texas rule requires certain care when an inmate is being held in restraints. Inmates can be placed in a restraint if they are behaving in a manner that threatens harm or injury to themselves or others. The restraints are not supposed to be used as a punitive measure. An important requirement is for inmates to be observed every 15 minutes at most. Documentation of these observations includes noting that the inmate has not lost circulation to his or her extremities. 

• In a jail inspection report dated October 7th, 2021, a TCJS inspector noted that documentation related to the use of a restraint chair shows that, on multiple occasions, jail staff was 1 to 5 minutes late for the task of making observation checks every 15 minutes at most.

Learn more in Part 1 and this ongoing series.

This website never intends to suggest that any person or entity has been a participant in wrongdoing of any sort. All posts on this site are added as potentially helpful resources for inmates in county jails in Texas.

–Guest Contributor