After 49-year-old Richard Edgerton entered into Harris County Jail the afternoon of September 5, 2019, he was placed in a detox cell. According to the Custodial Death Report on Mr. Edgerton, the next day he was found nonresponsive on the floor in the Medical Infirmary, where he received attention for opiate detoxification. After being moved to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced dead at 10:34 pm on September 6, 2019.

Minimum jail standards for the operation of county jails in Texas are established by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). TCJS also enforces those requirements. Every county jail is visited for an annual inspection, and sometimes jails are found in noncompliance. The following are details of an area of noncompliance in a Texas county jail related to personal observations of prisoners in detox cells.

RULE §265.3 – Observation During Holding

In a Jail Inspection Report dated November 23, 2020, the records of observation during holding were examined by a TCJS inspector. Documented visits and electronic records both are available. The jail was cited for noncompliance and the inspector’s note conveys the following:

• On a continuous basis, the required 30-minute face-to-face observations of inmates in holding and detox cells were exceeded by 10 to 30 minutes.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this three-part series.

There is no intention on this website to suggest that persons or organizations have engaged in improprieties. Posts are provided to assist Texas prisoners in county jails, whether housed there currently or at a former time.

–Guest Contributor