Category: County Jails|Custodial Death|Medical Care|Mental Health Issues|Outside Texas|Suicide

A deputy in a county sheriff’s department outside of Texas observed that a 31-year-old inmate was alone inside his cell hanging himself with a bedsheet. The deputy radioed for help and life-saving measures were immediately performed on the inmate, first by deputies and then by on-site medical personnel. The inmate was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead that same day, which was Saturday, January 22, 2022.

Is Malingering a Myth and does it Hinder Suicide Prevention?

Suicide prevention is very challenging, and one of the reasons is that there are myths about suicide. When uninformed individuals buy into myths, the quality of the supervision of inmates suffers. Many jailers refer to a practice among inmates known as malingering. In other words, jailers often do not take suicidal threats seriously because they believe the individual is engaging in a form of manipulation. But are they being duped by a myth?

A mental health professional who has specialized in custodial suicides was recently questioned about malingering, and the following are among her statements. It’s obvious that she does not see malingering as a myth but as a reality that complicates the effectiveness of suicide prevention programs:

• Yes, people absolutely do try to manipulate suicide prevention processes in county jails.
• Sometimes what an inmate is seeking is simply more attention.
• Inmates may seek a calmer environment and therefore manipulate the system to be placed in the more isolated setting for suicidal inmates.
• The incredible amount of manipulation that goes on within jails ultimately costs some inmates their lives. Due to the challenge of sorting out between manipulating inmates and those who are truly suicidal, some Inmates end up missing out on the supervision and care they need. They end up committing suicide.

On this site, there is no intention of making any implication of wrongdoing on the part of persons or entities. The posts on this website are intended as helpful resources to benefit current and previous inmates in county jails in Texas.

–Guest Contributor

In a county jail outside Texas, a young man had been placed with the general population upon booking. A jail mental health worker is the one who cleared him to be placed there. Seven months later, the man’s family reported to the mental health worker at the jail that he had threatened suicide if the criminal charges he faced went to trial. The response of the healthcare worker was not to place the inmate in a segregated cell so that he might be safer and more closely supervised under suicide watch. 

In the early morning hours one day, the inmate began to cut himself repeatedly, even while he struggled with corrections officers attempting to halt his suicidal behavior. He managed to lacerate his neck to the point that he committed suicide.

Although the jail mental health worker did not move the inmate to a suicide watch cell, he did create a detailed plan for monitoring the inmate around the times of his three upcoming court dates. In addition, the plan included conducting separate assessments of his mental health before each of the court dates. It would be totally erroneous to insist that the mental health worker at the jail disregarded the inmates serious need for medical care. What was lacking was taking appropriate steps in suicide prevention as an overall plan rather than focusing on court dates. 

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this continuing series.

Inferring wrongs on a person or institution is never intended on this website.  Helping county jail prisoners in Texas, whether currently or previously detained, is the purpose of posts on this site.

–Guest Contributor 

Risk Factors for Custodial Suicide

In one of many studies on how to prevent custodial suicides, a multi-level approach was examined in which risk factors of both the prison environment and the individual were considered. The goal was to reduce the number of preventable in-custody fatalities. The following are among the findings based on multinational data:

• The risk of suicide in U.S. jails is 3 times greater for male inmates compared to males in the general male population.
• Female prisoners in U.S. jails are 9 times more likely to die from suicide as the general population of females.
• Risk factors on the individual level that are linked to inmates suicide were identified in a study conducted in 2016. Those risk factors include a history of self-harm, prior treatment for mental issues, prior history of suicide attempts, suicide in the family history, a brief stay of 30 days or less in the jail, and mental health problems such as symptoms of depression, psychosis, or anxiety disorders.
• Higher rates of overcrowding in prisons are linked to higher rates of suicide, though it was determined that overcrowding alone is not likely to increase prisoner suicide.
• Across the globe, staff shortages contribute to inmate suicide.
• Interventions on both the individual level and jail level should be targeted to reduce the number of preventable custodial suicides.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this ongoing series.

Making any implications of wrongdoing on the part of persons or organizations is never intended on this website. Each post is meant as a resource to benefit Texas county jail inmates who are currently or previously incarcerated.

–Guest Contributor