Young County Jail is Cited for Noncompliance with Rules Related to Suicide Prevention

Many Texas county jails are cited for noncompliance every year, and many of the minimum jail standards they fail to perform are part of the suicide prevention plan. Young County Jail in Graham, Texas, was cited for just such standards after an inspection instigated by the death of an inmate, possibly Brandon Kyle Taylor.

Rule §273.5 (2) -Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan

Young County Jail was cited for alleged noncompliance with Rule §273.5 (2) -Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan. It is in the chapter on Health Services. The requirements of the rule are as follows: Identification. Procedures for intake screening to identify inmates who are known to be or observed to be mentally disabled and/or potentially suicidal and procedures for compliance with Code of Criminal Procedure Article 16.22 and referrals to available mental health officials.

• According to the TCJS inspector who conducted the inspection, a review of documentation revealed that while the magistrate was notified as required by CCP 16.22, there was no documentation indicating that mental health officials were notified as required.

The intake screening process was changed in the Sandra Bland Act that passed in 2017. The revision was meant to better identify mental illness during the screening process. However, when Sandra Bland was booked into Waller County Jail, she wrote in her suicide screening form that she was depressed and had made a previous attempt at suicide. Ms. Bland took her own life in a jail cell on July 13, 2015, three days after going through intake.

Learn more in Part 1 and Part 2 of this continuing series.

Providing help to inmates now or formerly detained in a Texas municipal or county jail is one of the purposes of this website. There is never an intention of implying that misdeeds have occurred on the part of individuals or institutions.

–Guest Contributor