Category: County Jails|Custodial Death|Medical Care|Observation Records|Suicide

Kevin Patrick Cantwell lived for less than a month after his April 9, 2022, placement in Cooke County Jail in Gainesville, Texas. What caused his death is currently unknown and pending autopsy results. During booking and routine medical screening, however, he threatened to kill himself. On May 1, 2022, when he was visually observed in the single cell in the isolation unit where he had been placed, Mr. Cantwell was discovered unresponsive on the floor. He was pronounced dead later that day after being transported to North Texas Medical Center in Gainesville.

Instructions Regarding Special Management Inmates.

Special guidelines apply to inmates requiring intensive observation, and the following are some examples.

• Inmates placed in special management housing units require direct, face-to-face observation by a jailer at random intervals each successive 30 minutes. These visual observations are documented on a 30-Minute Staff Observation Log.
• Class-I status special management inmates will be placed in close observation status when they leave the housing unit to be placed in an isolation cell or for appointments, such as court appointments. The timing of the visual checks must be random with at least one observation every 30 minutes. These observations must be documented in an inmate observation log under “close” observation.
• Inmates under intense observation must only be provided with one safety blanket and one mattress. All other bedding must be removed from the cell.
• Intensive observation inmates shall receive only their jail-issued outer garments. Socks, undergarments, and other personal items must be removed.
• Jail staff members must provide continuous direct observation for razor use by an intensive observation inmate.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this series.

Insinuating misdeeds on people or institutions is not intended on this website. The posts are meant as resources helpful to inmates jailed in Texas county facilities.

–Guest Contributor

Suicide Risk Factors that Affect Inmates

A recent comprehensive study on custodial suicide risk factors among inmates revealed that the following circumstances can increase the risk of inmate suicide:

• Misidentification of inmates who are potentially suicidal.
• A standard screening questionnaire is not being used in the jail.
• The methods for handling mental health assessment and planning for treatment are inadequate.
• Periodic suicide risk assessments are inadequate or lacking altogether.
• When the inmate enters a jail or prison, psychotropic medications are discontinued.
• Psychiatric and medical records from community sources are not obtained for review by the jail staff. 
• Bridge medications are not provided, such as psychotropic medications. 
• Suicide watch logs are falsified, which indicates that supervision has been inadequate.
•  Detoxification protocols are not implemented.
•  Psychiatric care is delayed.

Understanding Inmate Suicide

Between institutional stress and complexities in the interactions of psychiatric, genetic, psychosocial, and biological factors, inmate suicide is a high risk. Those who commit suicide have numerous differences. For instance, they are from many different backgrounds. They are either in pre-trial detention or they are serving a jail sentence. The coping skills and resources available to the different inmates are different. Numerous studies are needed and helpful in determining why suicide is the number one cause of death among those who are incarcerated.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this continuing series.

This website is a place where inferences that wrongdoing has occurred on the part of individuals or entities are never intended. Providing helpful resources to benefit inmates currently or previously housed in Texas county jails is the purpose of the posts on this site.

–Guest Contributor