Zavala County Jail in Crystal City, Texas 78839 is located at 200 E Uvalde Street. The inmate capacity at the jail is 66, and (830) 374-3615 is the phone number. The Zavala County Sheriff handles operations at the Zavala County Jail. Each Texas county jail is held accountable for maintaining requirements of operation primarily through annual jail inspections. In addition to establishing those standards, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) is responsible for enforcement. Non-compliant jails are subjected to increased oversight until they are deemed compliant with minimum jail standards.

Restraint Chairs

TCJS has approved the use of restraints when inmates are behaving in a potentially harmful manner. Restraint chairs are among those devices, in spite of controversies surrounding them. Various watchdog groups have spotlighted restraint chairs and disturbing jail activities associated with them. Allegedly, jailers in various jails throughout the U.S. have allegedly abused inmates in predictable patterns, such as spraying them with pepper spray while they are strapped in by their ankles, wrists, torso, and lap. Custodial deaths have also been associated with restraint chairs.

Although TCJS has approved restraint chairs, they are supposed to be used according to specific guidelines. For instance, inmates in a restraint chair must be observed every 15 minutes in a face-to-face check that includes ensuring that blood circulation has not been adversely affected. Also, restraint chairs cannot be used as forms of punishment. In addition, suicidal inmates cannot be strapped into a chair simply because they are at risk for suicide.

Providing assistance to current and former inmates of county jails in Texas is the purpose of posts on this site. There is no intention to imply that individuals or entities have engaged in wrongs.

–Guest Contributor