Category: County Jails|Custodial Death|Lawsuits|Outside Texas

On Monday, January 29, 2018, the Director appointed to address problems at the New Orleans Jail in New Orleans, Louisiana, quit. There was a status hearing that day, in which a litany of problems was discussed. The director began work in October 2016. A lawsuit had been filed over conditions at the jail, resulting in a 2012 jail compliance agreement. The jail moved to a new location in 2015, but the location itself seemed to have nothing to do with the activities at the jail. Suicide attempts and prisoner violence continued at the new facility. Shortly after the new director was hired, in 2016, a 15-year-old succeeded in committing suicide by hanging; and another suicide occurred a few months later.

Among the problems that are recognized at the New Orleans jail are: Prisoner suicides, fights between prisoners, drug overdoses, other smuggled contraband, inadequate staffing, poor training, and a lack of written policies. Mental healthcare is also inadequate, particularly for women prisoners.  Margo Frasier is a court-appointed monitor of the situation and former Texas sheriff. At the hearing about jail conditions, she said she smelled marijuana smoke during a weekend jail visit. She said that on 10 occasions in recent months, Narcan had been used in the treatment of opioid overdoses. On three of those occasions, a prisoner died from an overdose.

Dr. Raymond Patterson, a court-appointed expert, testified at the hearing that, due to inadequate supervision, prisoners frequently manage to secure sharp objects and other items that can be used in suicide attempts.

At the hearing, Frasier insisted that the problems can all be fixed. However, there are growing concerns as problems continue to mount.

As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.

–Guest Contributor

At the age of 40, Tommy Joe Smith was allegedly murdered at the Tangipahoa Parish jail in Amite, Louisiana, on January 31, 2017, by 12 prisoners, who attacked him. An autopsy showed that he died of blunt force trauma to the head. In the first week of January 2018, Smith’s family filed a lawsuit in connection with his death. The lawsuit claims that prisoners known to be violent were free to move between cells, though they knew Smith’s history increased the potential that he would be targeted for violence. The federal lawsuit claims that Smith was brutally beaten to death by a dozen prisoners while authorities in charge of the jail failed to adequately protect him. The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office said things at the jail dormitory were very quickly brought under control, after the brutal attack.

According to Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards, the environment created limitations such as the ability of the victim to escape and the safety of jail staff members, emergency medical responders, and the prisoners. The primary consideration, in regards to that comment, was the number of prisoners involved in the custodial death.

In connection with Smith’s death, one juvenile and 11 men have been indicted by a grand jury on manslaughter charges.

In county jails, prisoners have a right to be protected from violence. Certain procedures are in place that provide guidelines for how to run a jail. In Texas, for example, county jails must follow a set of minimum jail standards. Jails are routinely inspected, to ensure that required practices are being followed. If there has been negligence, a jail receives a citation; they have a certain period of time in which to remedy the situation.

As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.

–Guest Contributor