Michael Tokos Dies After Incarceration in Jim Hogg County Jail

We recently posted about the Jim Hogg County jail failing an inspection, or evaluation, by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). We indicated in that post that the inspection or evaluation appeared to be as a result of the death of an inmate. However, it appears that Jim Hogg County failed, and thus violated the law, in timely filing a custodial death report regarding that death.

Texas law requires a county to file a report with the Texas Attorney General, no later than 30 days after a death, if the death occurs in custody. Through our investigation, it appears that a Michael Tokos might have been the detainee who died and whose death led to the TCJS investigation.

During that TCJS investigation, about which we posted separately, the TCJS learned that there was no documentation indicating that a judge had been notified either in writing or electronically of responses given to questions for the decedent on the Screening Form for Suicide/Medical/Mental/Developmental Impairments and an exact Continuity of Care Query. Further, regarding the death of the detainee, the TCJS determined that he had been taking prescription medication at the facility where he was previously housed. Even though the medication was listed on the Texas Uniform Health Status Update Form, and even though the inmate had also told one or more persons at the Jim Hogg County jail that he was taking additional medication, there was no documentation at the Jim Hogg County jail indicating that a qualified medical professional reviewed the medication or that the inmate was receiving it.

Once again, while we are not certain, our preliminary investigation indicates that the inmate to which the TCJS referred was Michael Tokos. If true, and Jim Hogg County failed to file the custodial death report, then the County is in violation of the law. It is important that counties comply with the law, so that family members of those who die in our Texas jails are informed about what occurred. Our jail neglect law firm is handling cases all over Texas, and custodial death reports are an important part of any jail death investigation.

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.