A recent study showed that the rate of custodial suicides in U.S. county jails was 2.5 times the rate of suicide in state prisons and 3.5 times the rate of suicide within the nation’s general population. The blame usually falls on the fact that more and more mentally ill people are incarcerated due to a trend of state psychiatric hospitals closing across the US, which began in the 1970s. More recently, the opioid and meth crisis has resulted in inmates, more than ever, dealing with withdrawal and depression.

An investigation that was a collaborative effort between journalistic organizations found that jails under scrutiny due to increasing complaints often share the following alleged patterns:

• Failure to monitor at-risk inmates, including those recognized as being suicidal;
• Denying medication to inmates with apparent medical needs;
• Ignoring desperate cries for help;
• Imposing harsh circumstances in which sick inmates’ conditions worsened.

After analyzing the specifics of more than 400 formal complaints against jails, the following statistics emerged:

• Most inmates who were mistreated were mentally ill.
• 40% involved suicides that occurred in local jails–135 suicidal deaths and 30 suicide attempts.

The investigation uncovered many clues that could be used as a guide to change jail culture. The following is an example:

• Approximately 1/3 of all suicide attempts were made by inmates who had been denied the prescription medications that had been managing their mental illness. Jail officials often say that it is not harmful to withhold medications for a short time, and they often see inmates “trying to manipulate the system” to lay hold of drugs. Not all agree. One sheriff said that there is a moral and ethical duty to ensure that inmates are able to continue taking their psychotropic medications.

Learn more in Part 1 and this ongoing series.

The posts on this site are intended to provide assistance to current and former Texas inmates and their families. There is at no time an intent to infer that an entity or individual has engaged in misdeeds of any kind.

–Guest Contributor