Milam County Jail in Cameron, Texas Fails State Inspection

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”) recently conducted an inspection of the Milam County jail, in Cameron, Texas.  The Milam County jail is now being listed as being non-compliant by the TCJS.

The Milam County jail violated two TCJS standards.  First, one standard requires documented observations of all jail inmates every 15 minutes, at a minimum, for inmates who are held in restraints.  The TCJS inspector noted, while reviewing inmate restraint observation logs, that the Milam County jail exceeded the 15-minute observation period by as little as one minute and by up to 4 minutes on a consistent basis.

Further, Texas State jail standards require observation of inmates at least every 30 minutes in areas in which inmates are known to be mentally ill, potentially suicidal, assaultive, or who have demonstrated bizarre behavior.  The TCJS inspector noted, when reviewing 30-minute face-to-face observation logs, that Milam County jailers were exceeding the 30-minute period by as little as one minute and as much as 17 minutes on a consistent basis.  What is more troubling is that the TCJS inspector noted that technical assistance was provided regarding the same issue during the 2019 annual inspection.  Hopefully, Milam County will bring its jail 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.