Liberty County Jail in Texas Fails Inspection

The Liberty County jail, in Liberty, Texas, continues to apparently have serious problems.  The Liberty County jail was found to be non-compliant by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”) as a result of a September 25, 2019 special inspection.  The special inspection report indicates failure to comply with a TCJS standard.

The TCJS commonly conducts special inspections after the death and/or serious injury of a county jail inmate.  We believe that the special inspection occurring on September 25, 2019 was probably as a result of the suicide of Cristian David Sarmiento.  Mr. Sarmiento was only 35 years of age at the time of his death.  Mr. Sarmiento apparently died of suicide.

The TCJS special inspection report regarding the Liberty County jail indicates that the Liberty County Jail, run by the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department, violated Section 275, Paragraph .1, of TCJS standards.  That standard requires every county jail in Texas to have an appropriate number of jailers on-duty 24 hours a day.  Further, each Texas jail must have an established procedure to document face-to-face observations of all inmates no less than once every hour.

Further, in portions of Texas County jails in which inmates are known to be mentally ill, or who have demonstrated assaultive or bizarre behavior, or who are potentially suicidal, prisoners must be checked every 30 minutes.  Further, there must be two-way voice communication capability between inmates and jailers, bailiffs, licensed peace officers, and designated staff.  Texas County jails can use closed-circuit television to watch inmates, but not in lieu of personal required observations.

The TCJS inspector noted that, at the Liberty County jail, documented video evidence revealed that face-to-face observations of at least two inmates did not occur between the hours of 8:53 p.m. on August 19, 2019 and 6:16 a.m. on August 20, 2019. 

This is a serious violation, as inmates can commit suicide and/or suffer serious medical crises without anyone to help.  Hopefully, the Liberty County Jail will promptly bring itself into compliance. 

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.