Panola County Jail is in Carthage, Texas 75633 at 314 W Wellington St. The jail can be contacted at the phone number (903) 693-0333. The inmate capacity at Panola County Jail is 160. The operations of the jail are handled by the Panola County Sheriff. Guidelines for operations are provided by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). Every Texas jail is inspected by TCJS annually to determine whether the facility is maintaining minimum jail standards. When a jail is non-compliant, a special jail inspection is scheduled and TCJS works with the jail staff to resolve every issue.

Restraint Chairs

TCJS has approved the use of a variety of restraint devices and methods so that jail staff can get inmates under control when their behavior is a threat to themselves or others. Among the TCJS-approved restraints are restraint chairs. In recent years, studies have brought to light that an alarming number of custodial deaths have been associated with inmates being strapped into restraint chairs.

As a result of the implied threat of using these restrictive devices in possibly unlawful ways, a number of jurisdictions throughout the country have outlawed their use. Not so in Texas. The following are among the minimum jail standards associated with the use of restraints in general, and they also apply to restraint chairs:

• Only authorized personnel can make the decision to place an inmate in a restraint device. Those individuals include supervisory members of the jail staff and medical professionals.
• Restraints cannot be used as a form of punishment.
• Providing medical care is an essential component of using restraint chairs and other restraints as required.
• Every 15 minutes at most, a jailer or medical expert must observe the inmate in restraints. The face-to-face check of the inmate includes verifying that blood circulation has not been obstructed from his or her extremities.

This website provides posts as helpful resources for Texas inmates and their families. There is never an intent to infer misdeeds on the part of any individual or company.

–Guest Contributor