Suicide and Denial of Medical Care in Private Texas Prisons and Jails – Potential Constitutional Liability

Texas privately-run prisons, jails, and holding facilities are generally responsible to comply with the United States Constitution regarding care and treatment of prisoners. Therefore, if an inmate commits suicide, is injured by fellow inmates, and/or is denied medical care and/or mental health care, and other constitutional standards are not met, the company running the facility, as well as people interacting with the inmate, could be liable pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 as a result of death of and/or injury to the inmate. In the event of death, liability might be to the person’s family members and/or the representative of his or her probate estate. As of the date of this post, it is our understanding that the following facilities in Texas are operated under the guise of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, but are actually privately-operated:

Private prisons

• Bridgeport Unit
• Cleveland Unit
• Diboll Unit
• Estes Unit (Previously the Venus Unit)
• Kyle Unit (previously known as the Kyle New Vision Unit)
• Lockhart Unit (female only)
• Billy Moore Unit

Private State jails

• Bartlett State Jail
• Bradshaw State Jail
• Jesse R. Dawson Unit (Co-gender)
• John R. Lindsey Unit
• Willacy County State Jail

Private pre-parole transfer facilities

• Bridgeport Unit
• Mineral Wells Unit

Private work programs

• Lockhart Unit

Private multi-use facilities

• East Texas Multi-Use Facility (Co-gender)

We make no allegation in this post of any wrongdoing by anyone, and we are not addressing any specific situation. Instead, we are simply providing general information.

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