Liberty County, Texas Jail Fails State Inspection

The Liberty County jail, run by The Geo Group, Inc., recently failed an inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”).  The inspection occurred on May 22, 2020.  The TCJS inspector, during the re-inspection of the Liberty County jail, in Liberty, Texas, found a number of minimum standards which the jail violated.

The TCJS inspector noted that the jail violated the standard requiring appropriate facility fire inspections.  The last fire inspection was performed on April 22, 2019, which placed the inspection past-due by a month. 

The TCJS inspector also noted that the fire alarm control panel was in “trouble mode.”  Fire services staff were unable to repair the issue and red-tagged the fire alarm control panel during the inspection.

As to inmates in the Liberty County jail, the TCJS inspector cited the minimum standard that requires Texas jails to conduct custody reassessments within 30-to-90 days of the initial custody assessment.  However, the Liberty County jail, the TCJS inspector determined, allowed such custody reassessments to be late by as long as up to six months.  The TCJS inspector found this issue while reviewing inmate medical files.  

Moreover, while reviewing medical files for Liberty County jail inmates, the TCJS inspector noted that an inmate did not have medication levels checked per a physician’s orders.  The TCJS inspector noted, “Not following a physician’s order was an area of deficiency from a 2019 re-inspection performed on June 28, 2019.”  Therefore, the Liberty County jail apparently has failed to remedy this issue after it was previously pointed out. 

Finally, and importantly as it regards to keeping inmates alive and healthy, the TCJS inspector noted that the Liberty County jail, run by The Geo Group, Inc., was not complying with Texas minimum jail standards regarding intake screening to identify inmates who are known or observed to be mentally disabled and/or potentially suicidal, as well as subsequent referral to available mental health officials.  The Texas jail standards inspector noted, while reviewing medical files, that jail staff were not completing the screening form in its entirety.  Screening time, comments to “Yes” responses, CCQ match responses, and notification dates/times were shown to be incomplete.  As with the other issue referenced above, not completing the form in its entirety was a deficiency from the 2019 annual inspection. 

Hopefully, whoever is in charge at the Liberty County jail will bring the jail in compliance.  There is no excuse for these deficiencies, and especially those relating to medical and inmate issues. 

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.