Category: Medical Care

Fernando Serna Candelas was booked into the El Paso County Jail on March 9, 2021. While still in the custody of the El Paso, Texas, jail, Mr. Candelas died on June 30, 2021. According to the Custodial Death Report, the 21-year-old’s medical cause of death was fentanyl toxicity.

As mentioned previously in this series, drug addiction is a problem with a large percentage of Texas inmates. Another issue of great concern is custodial suicide. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has included county jail guidelines for suicide prevention. In the Texas Code, the information is found in the chapter on health services. The requirements for a mental disabilities/suicide prevention plan include training for suicide prevention.

RULE §273.5 – Suicide Prevention Plan

In each county Texas jail, the sheriff or equivalent (operator) is required to develop and implement a suicide prevention plan. Coordination with available mental and medical health officials is part of the process. Training of jail staff members is an important part of the plan. The staff must receive training on recognizing, supervising, documenting, and handling inmates who are potentially suicidal. Training includes learning what the risk factors are for suicide.

Inmate Suicide Risk Factors

A recent report on custodial suicide based on an in-depth study found that the following are among the strong risk factors for inmate suicide:

• Suicidal ideation while currently incarcerated
• History of attempted suicide
• Current psychiatric diagnosis
• Housed in a single cell (one occupant)
• No social visits
• Convicted of a violent offense

Learn more in Part 1 and Part 2 of this three-part series.

It is never an intention on this website to suggest that individuals or organizations have been participants in wrongdoing. Posts are offered as potentially helpful resources for inmates now or formerly housed in a county jail in Texas.

–Guest Contributor

The Hardin County Sheriff’s Department, in Kountze, Texas, filed a report regarding the death of Danny Earl Jones. Mr. Jones was 52 years old at the time of his death. We provide information we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.

We review a significant number of custodial death reports in Texas, and the report involving Mr. Jones’ death contains one of the shortest summaries we have seen. The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:

“On 9-20-2021, at approximately 1:05 a.m., while jail staff was conducting cell checks, Inmate Danny Earl Jones was found deceased in his cell. He was located in “Detox B” cell and was the only inmate in the cell at that time.”

Therefore, the summary provides no information about how often Mr. Jones might have been checked as is required by Texas Commission on Jail Standards regulations. It also provides no information about his medical condition, or mental health condition.

The United States Constitution guarantees the right of those held in Texas county jails to receive reasonable medical care and reasonable mental health care. It also provides a right to be protected. If these rights are violated, and a person dies as a result, then certain surviving family members may be able to bring a lawsuit.

Tragically, at just 21 years of age, Fernando Serna Candelas died in El Paso, Texas, an inmate of El Paso County Jail. On the day of his June 30, 2021, death, emergency help for him was requested at 4:10 am. After being transported to a nearby hospital, he was pronounced dead at 5:09 am.

Per the guidelines for county jail operations in the Texas Administrative Code, which were set by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), alcohol and/or drug abuse is among the risk factors considered when classifying an inmate for appropriate housing. The general guideline is to place each inmate in the least restrictive housing without placing staff members, the public, or other inmates in jeopardy.

Drug abuse is an issue that has become integral in jails due to widespread addiction. The county jail in Nueces County, Texas, has recently been at full capacity. Other counties are being paid to house Nueces County inmates oftentimes. According to authorities in that county, many of the jail’s inmates have drug and alcohol problems as well as mental health issues.

Nueces County has announced that they are exploring the possibility of opening a jail diversion facility for mentally impaired and drug-addicted inmates, which will help alleviate jail overcrowding.

Learn more in Part 1 and this continuing series.

This website never purposes to infer wrongdoing on persons or institutions. Each post is provided for the purpose of helping inmates now or previously incarcerated in county jail facilities in Texas.

–Guest Contributor

Fernando Serna Candelas died at age 21 on June 30, 2021, in the custody of El Paso County Jail in El Paso, Texas. A Custodial Death Report shows that Mr. Candelas was booked into the jail on March 9, 2021. The manner of death, per the report, was fentanyl toxicity.

A large percentage of inmates in Texas jails are drug-addicted in these current times. In the operational requirements for county jails, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) makes provisions for the needs of inmates in need of detoxification. Each jail must include detox cells, where inmates receive heightened supervision, including medical care.

According to a report published in July 2021, the number of overdose deaths in prisons and jails has dramatically increased since 2001. The Bureau of Justice Statistics released data showing that state prisons saw an increase in drug or alcohol-related deaths of more than 600%. In county jails, the increase in overdose deaths was more than 200% between 2001 and 2018.

Although the research data spans 17 years, the biggest increases in overdose deaths in prisons have been recent. The year 2015 began a starkly vertical rise in overdose deaths, and the most dramatic increase occurred in 2018. The federal data available at the time the analysis was done did not include the years 2019 or 2020.

Learn more in this continuing series.

This website never intends to infer misdeeds on the part of individuals or institutions. Each post is meant as a potentially helpful resource for Texas inmates housed in county jails.

–Guest Contributor

Joshua Daniel Key was booked in Van Zandt County Jail in Canton, Texas, on July 9, 2021, and died 11 days later on the 20^th. The custodial death report states that he died of natural causes. Mr. Key was 48 years old at the time of his death.

Inmates have rights, and the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) establishes operational requirements for county jails in the state. One of the basic protections needed is related to suicides. The second leading cause of death in jails and prisons is suicide. TCJS includes suicide prevention measures under the health services section of the Texas code governing jail procedures.

The supervision of inmates has been identified as a deterrent to suicide and other activities that can threaten their safety. Of course, the safety of jail staff members is also a crucial consideration. When an inmate is behaving in a manner that can cause harm to himself or others, restraints can be used. Examples of restraints include handcuffs and restraint chairs. In every instance demanding the use of a restraint device, the least restrictive method must be used.

Restraint chairs are the most restrictive of the devices used to gain control of an inmate. The manufacturers of these devices always include instructions warning of potential harm that could occur. For the protection of inmates, it is essential for TCJS rules to be followed, though the specific guidelines for using a restraint chair in Texas jails may not fully match suggestions for use provided by manufacturers.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this three-part series.

There is no intention on this website to suggest that persons or entities have been involved in misdeeds. Posts on this site are provided for the purpose of helping Texas inmates in county jails, whether current or past prisoners.

–Guest Contributor

Joshua Daniel Key entered Van Zandt County Jail on July 9, 2021. After he died on July 20, 2021, a Custodial Death Report was prepared and indicates that he died of natural causes related to a pre-existing condition.

According to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), denial of medical care is the subject of many complaints made against Texas county jails. These alleged departures from compliance to minimum jail standards are only detected via jail inspections in certain circumstances.

For instance, when prisoners are held in restraints, electronic records are automatically made of the 15-minute checks that are required for medical reasons. The blood circulation to extremities can be cut off by restraints. It has been, therefore, deemed that the inmates must be checked in the quarter-hour time frame.

Information in regard to jails found non-compliant in conducting the face-to-face observations of inmates in restraints has been found in connection with the following Texas counties in recent months: Nacogdoches County Jail, Van Zandt County Jail, Uvalde County Jail, and Walker County Jail

Observation Violations When Inmates are in Restraints

• On October 13, 2020, a Jail Inspection Report shows that when inmates were held in a restraint chair, documentation indicates that on multiple occasions, 15-minute observation checks were between 1 and 16 minutes late.
• On an inspection report dated December 16, 2020, mandatory 15-minute observations of inmates behind held in a restraint chair were not conducted in the required time frames.

See Part 1 and this ongoing series.

It is not intended on this site to make implications that individuals or institutions engaged in wrongs. Posts provided on this website purpose to assist prisoners now or previously held in Texas county jails.

–Guest Contributor

Joshua Daniel Key was booked into Van Zandt County Jail, in Canton, Texas, on July 9, 2021. According to the Custodial Death Report for Mr. Key, he died presumably of natural causes on July 20, 2021. He was 48 years old at the time of his death.

Medical care is the complaint issue brought against Texas county jails more than any other, according to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). The Commission is also responsible for enforcement, which primarily involves conducting jail inspections to ensure compliance. In the area of medical care, current procedures for inspecting jails don’t reflect complaint-riddled medical care in jails. However, some specific areas in Texas minimum jail standards involve inmate medical care that can be scrutinized during jail inspections.

Restraints

The use of restraints is one of those areas in which TCJS inspectors often discover documentation and/or video evidence of noncompliance. The instances are made public with the release of Jail Inspection Reports about allegedly non-compliant jails.

For example, inmates held in restraints must be personally checked by a jailer in intervals not to exceed every 15 minutes. These types of observation checks are recorded electronically and are also supposed to be accurately documented by jailers. In spite of this requirement and the importance of providing medical care, inspection reports frequently reflect a lack of noncompliance.

In this ongoing series, learn specifics on noncompliant Texas jails.

There is no intention on this website to infer that individuals or institutions have participated in misdeeds. Posts are provided as resources to help county jail inmates in Texas.

–Guest Contributor

Corey Paul Denton Davis, age 36, was booked into the League City, Texas, jail on July 27, 2021. He died soon after on the day he was set for release, which was July 31, 2021. The cause of death was shown as “results pending” from the coroner or medical examiner, and the Custodial Death Report also indicates that Mr. Davis was held in a single cell, which means he had no cellmates.

Suicide prevention is the second leading cause of death in Texas county jails, second only to death from natural causes. The following are among the characteristics most common among inmates who commit suicide:

• The median age of individuals who commit suicide in jail is 33.
• The age group most at risk for suicide includes ages 25 to 34.
• Although white inmates represent one-third of the jail population, 58% of jail suicide victims in Texas are white.
• One study shows that white jail inmates in the nation are six times more likely than African-Americans and three times more likely than Hispanics to commit suicide.
• As far as gender, studies show that 93% of jail suicide victims in Texas are male and 7% female.
• The median number of days that an inmate commits suicide is 11 days. Nearly 18% of suicides occurred within 24 hours of being booked into jail. Another 42% of suicides happened in the first week.

Learn more in Part 1 and Part 2 of this three-part series.

There is no intention on this site to suggest that persons or entities have been participants in wrongdoing. This website provides posts as potentially helpful resources for inmates in Texas county jails, whether current or former Texas detainees.

–Guest Contributor

According to jail records, Corey Paul Denton Davis had mental health problems. After being booked into League City jail in League City on July 27, 2021, he refused recommended medical care the next day. He was found unresponsive and soon after pronounced dead on July 31, 2021.

Continuing from the first segment of this series, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) includes the following requirements in the Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan that all county jails must develop and implement.

Details from RULE §273.5 Continued

Each county jail must maintain documentation to be made available during the annual jail inspection, and the documentation must show:

• The information request from the  CCQ/IDD system was submitted, and it must include:
  • Documentation on the notification to the magistrate and the Local Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Authority or the  Local Mental Health Authority.
  • Any relevant mental health or intellectual and developmental disability information on the mental health screening instrument and, in the event the inmate is sentenced to the Department of Criminal Justice, on the Uniform Health Status form.

The following is among the principles and procedures that must be included in the mental disabilities/suicide prevention plan:

• Staff members must be trained on the procedures for effectively recognizing, supervising, documenting, and handling inmates who have mental disabilities or who are potentially suicidal. In addition, staff members responsible for intake screening should have supplemental training.

Learn more in Part 1 and this continuing series.

It is not intended on this site to infer misdeeds on the part of persons or institutions. Each of this website’s posts is intended as a resource of potential assistance to inmates now or previously housed in a Texas county jail.

–Guest Contributor

During a scheduled stay of fewer than four full days at League City jail in League City, Texas, 36-year-old Corey Paul Denton Davis died on July 31, 2021. The Custodial Death Report shows that  Mr. Davis exhibited mental health problems. EMS services were called when Mr. Davis began to suffer from apparent withdrawals the day after his arrival, but he refused to go to the hospital.

In Texas county jails, an intake procedure for inmates aims to ensure that mentally ill inmates receive needed mental care. They are housed in an area where increased supervision is mandated.

Minimum jail standards for the operation of county jails in Texas are established by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). The Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan described in RULE §273.5 is to be developed for each jail in coordination with mental and medical health officials.

Requirements Under the Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan

A history check of mental health/intellectual and developmental disabilities is to be conducted for each inmate at the time of intake. This research begins with data in the Texas Health and Human Services Commission CCQ system, where it will show up if an inmate:

• Has been provided with state mental healthcare;
• Has a known intellectual disability, or
• Has a developmental disability.

Exceptions to this requirement include if the inmate is an out-of-state or federal inmate on a contractual basis.

Learn more in this continuing series.

It is not intended on this site to infer misdeeds on the part of persons or institutions. Each of this website’s posts is intended as a resource of potential assistance to inmates now or previously housed in a Texas county jail.

–Guest Contributor