On November 9, 2017, Denay Birnie died in a hospital soon after being transferred there from Parker County Jail in Weatherford, Texas. The 27-year-old had been incarcerated less than 24 hours before her death. Here is a link to the related post.

Preventing inmate deaths is a crucial responsibility of jailers and those handling jail operations. Understanding the threat and taking steps to actively ensure the safety of inmates can make all the difference.

For instance, data released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics revealed that 40% of all custodial deaths happen within a person’s first week of incarceration. This suggests that special attention is called for during an inmate’s first seven days in jail.

Lack of medical care is often blamed for an inmate’s death. Research strongly suggests that denial of access to appropriate medical care is a continuous problem in city and county jails. Different factors contribute to this serious problem, including:

• Alleged indifference of jail staff members, and
• Inmate medical care neglect of third-party medical care providers as a way of increasing profits.

Inmate Observation Checks

Studies in the U.S. reached the same conclusion as the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding routine observations of inmates, which are safety and security checks. On the topic of jail suicide, which is the number two cause of death in local jails, the WHO covered the topic of post-intake observation. The report states that ongoing observation is a must to prevent jail suicides. Inmate supervision is known to be a vital function of jailers, yet Texas county jails are often non-compliant in this area.

See this ongoing series to learn more.

This website provides posts meant to assist inmates in Texas jails, both current and former. There is never an intention on this site to infer that persons or entities have engaged in wrongs.

–Guest Contributor