The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) currently lists Rusk County Jail in Texas as a Non-Compliant Jail on the TCJS website. A Notice of Non-Compliance was issued on August 28, 2023. It specifies the minimum jail standard the jail was cited for in a special jail inspection report also issued on August 28, 2023. TCJS inspectors allege that the Henderson, Texas, jail violated 1 minimum jail standard.

The address of Rusk County Jail is 210 Charlevoix Street, Henderson, TX, 75652. The jail has a 288-bed capacity. Details on alleged noncompliance follow.

Rule §275.1-Regular Observations by Jailers

Rusk County Jail was found to be non-compliant with the following rule in the chapter on the supervision of detainees. Rule §275.1-Regular Observations by Jailers states that every facility shall have the appropriate number of jailers at the facility 24 hours each day. Facilities shall have an established procedure for documented, face-to-face observation of all inmates by jailers no less than once every 60 minutes. Observation shall be performed at least every 30 minutes in areas where inmates known to be assaultive, potentially suicidal, mentally ill, or who have demonstrated bizarre behavior are confined.

• A review of documentation and video received after a custodial death revealed that while jailers made observation rounds, the jailers did not view the inmate face-to-face as required by minimum jail standards.

In the custodial death report about Johnny Charles Bradley, a 61-year-old detainee at Rusk County Jail, details are provided about his July 23, 2023, death. It says that Mr. Bradley was believed to be hypertensive but consistently refused medication and medical treatment. He was also believed to be mentally ill and was on the “Clearing House List” (#826). On the afternoon of July 23, 2023, Mr. Bradley was in his single-occupancy cell and was found unresponsive on his bed by Rusk County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) jail staff. Lifesaving measures were administered, and an ambulance was summoned. Mr. Bradley was transported by ambulance to the emergency room at UT Health in Henderson, where he was eventually pronounced deceased at 5:15 p.m. on the same day. Preliminary autopsy results indicate that the death was due to natural causes – cardiovascular disease/heart attack.