McCulloch County, Texas Jail Fails TCJS Inspection
The McCulloch County jail, in McCulloch, Texas, failed a May 24, 2021 Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”) inspection. The TCJS inspector found that the fire panel was past-due for inspection. The inspector noted that technical assistance had been provided to the McCulloch County jail, for the same issue, during the last annual inspection.
Further, and perhaps more troubling based upon our constitutional rights law firm’s experience handling jail death cases, the TCJS inspector determined that face-to-face observations had not been performed at least every 30 minutes in areas of the jail where inmates were known to be assaultive, potentially suicidal, mentally ill, or who had demonstrated bizarre behavior. Such observations are extremely important, as suicidal inmates can commit suicide in five minutes or less. If jailers fail to make appropriate observations, then serious injury or death can occur.
The United States Constitution guarantees the right of inmates in Texas county jails to be protected from themselves and others. If a known suicidal inmate commits suicide, and jailers were deliberately indifferent or acted objectively unreasonably regarding that inmate’s known suicidal tendencies, then they might be liable to certain surviving family members. These claims are usually brought in federal court.
Dean Malone
Dean Malone