On August 5, 2022, at 10:06 PM, Markist Levar Sims, age 45, was booked into Matagorda County Jail in Bay City, Texas. Jail staff housed Mr. Sims in a detox cell by himself. Less than 2 hours later, he was discovered to be in medical distress. Paramedics were called, and Mr. Sims was transported to a nearby hospital by ambulance. Soon after, he suffered cardiac arrest and was pronounced deceased at 2:56 AM on August 6, 2022.

Jail Classification Systems Continued

County jail staff members are usually forced to make decisions about inmate classification based on minimal data, such as:

• Criminal charges made against the inmate
• The bond amount
• Self-reported medical history

The amount of verifiable information available to county jail staff is often inadequate to categorize and separate the inmates.

A high volume of admissions in larger jails creates work overload situations for staff, and the available time for assessing each inmate is decreased.

Oftentimes, the physical design of county jail facilities further hampers the ability to physically separate inmates of different classifications. The older facilities are especially lacking in the ability to create physical separation.

All things considered, including other operational constraints that might come into play, county jail classification of inmates is generally limited by a somewhat unavoidable form of neglect.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this ongoing series.

This website seeks to assist inmates in Texas city and county detention centers and jails, whether they are now or were previously incarcerated. There is no intention on this website to insinuate that individuals or institutions have been participants in acts of wrongdoing.

–Guest Contributor