Category: Medical Care

Shortly after going through the booking process at Lubbock County Jail in Lubbock, Texas, 45-year-old Chad Douglas Farmer was transferred to the medical unit housing area. No details were provided by the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office to explain why he was moved. The next day, May 4, 2021, Farmer died, though no further information was reported to describe his health condition.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has set the state’s minimum jail standards, which include measures that are designed to help prevent custodial deaths. The issue of medical care is included in the Texas Code, and TCJS receives far more complaints about medical care than any other issue. Results of jail inspections described in Jail Inspection Reports don’t typically reflect violations in the area of medical care, which is inconsistent with reporting about complaints. Two exceptions are violations regarding prescription distribution and the one below, which has to do with medical care related to inmates being placed in restraints.

Noncompliance: RULE §273.6(1) – Restraints

Texas Administrative Code Title 37, Part 9, Chapter 273, Rule §273.6(1) requires that a prisoner’s health condition must be assessed by supervisory or medical personnel before either of those individuals of authority make the decision to use restraints on an inmate.

• According to notes made by a TCJS inspector, detention officers at that jail are the ones who make the decision to place prisoners in the emergency restraint chair.

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

The aim of adding posts to this website is to help present and past prisoners in Texas county jails. The site does not intend to suggest that persons or entities have been involved in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor

Chad Douglas Farmer, age 45, was booked into Lubbock County Jail in Lubbock, Texas, on May 3, 2021, and was transferred to the area for medical center housing the following morning. He was found unresponsive in his bunk that night and was pronounced dead by an EMT a short time later.

Supervision of inmates is recognized as the best deterrent to custodial deaths. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) requires jailers to provide supervision as detailed in minimum jail standards, including while being detained in holding and detox cells.

Noncompliance: RULE §265.3 – Observation During Holding

Texas Administrative Code Title 37, Part 9, Chapter 265, Rule §265.3 specifies that prisoners confined in a detoxification or holding cell must be observed by jailers at intervals that do not exceed 30 minutes.

• During the annual inspection at a Texas County Jail, a TCJS inspector reviewed the detox and holding cells documentation for face-to-face observations and noticed that jailers routinely exceeded the 30-minute limit between observations. Checks of the holding and detox cells were made hourly instead of every half-hour, as required by minimum jail standards.

Noncompliance: RULE §275.1 – Regular Observation by Jailers

Texas Administrative Code Title 37, Part 9, Chapter 275, Rule §275.1 states that inmates who are mentally ill, potentially suicidal, known to be assaultive, or have behaved in a bizarre manner must be confined in an area of the jail where they will be observed at 30-minute intervals rather than the 60-minute time limit that applies among the general population.

• While reviewing documentation for face-to-face observations of potentially suicidal, assaultive, or mentally ill inmates and inmates behaving in a bizarre manner, the inspector found that jailers exceeded the required 30-minute time limit between checks.

See Part 1 of this continuing series.

This site’s posts are provided as helpful resources for Texas prisoners detained in a county jail, whether currently or previously. It is not intended on this site to infer wrongs on persons or organizations.

–Guest Contributor

On the day after being booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center in Lubbock, Texas, 45-year-old Chad Douglas Farmer was pronounced dead by an emergency medical technician and paramedic who arrived at the jail with emergency medical services. The Lubbock County Sheriff’s office reported the custodial death, though no details were provided about the inmate’s cause of death or the reason he became unresponsive.

Intake screening is an important part of booking new inmates into Texas county jails, but the focus is primarily on mental health issues and the risk of committing suicide. All Texas inmates have a right to necessary medical, dental, and mental services. If emergency care is needed, members of the jail staff are required to provide immediate assistance. The following are details found in the Texas Code reflecting minimum jail standards for health care.

RULE §273.2 – Health Services Plan

Each county jail in Texas must establish and implement a written health services plan for dental, mental, and medical services to be provided to inmates. The following are among the requirements which the plans must include procedures for:

• Making regularly scheduled sick calls.
• Referring inmates for mental, dental, and medical services.
• Providing prompt, efficient care for inmates in emergency and acute circumstances.
• Long-term convalescent care necessary for inmates with disabilities.

Learn more in this continuing series.

The posts on this website are provided as potential resources to help county jail inmates in Texas, whether they are current or former prisoners. On this site, it is not intended to infer improprieties on individuals or entities.

–Guest Contributor

Two men who had been incarcerated at Montgomery County Jail in Conroe, Texas, died of natural causes within approximately two weeks of one another. Mosheer Rashid, age 41, and Carl Bible, age 35, had both been diagnosed with the flu before dying. According to the jail, they both suffered from multiple health issues prior to contracting the flu.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) establishes guidelines for Texas county jail operations, and many of the requirements are designed to keep inmates safe from harm. Each year, the county jails in the state are inspected as a way of determining whether the facilities are maintaining minimum jail standards.

In a recent Special Inspection Report that reflected the results of an inspection instigated by a custodial death, the jail was cited for a violation that could call into question whether jail staff members present in the facility at the time of the death were familiar with TCJS requirements.

Non-Compliance in the Supervision of Inmates

Title 37, Part 9 of the Texas Administrative Code, RULE §275.2 states that jailers appointed to directly supervise inmates must be licensed per requirements in a different section of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

• The TC JS inspector found that seven individuals that worked in the jail on the date of the inmate’s death did not have a temporary or permanent jailer’s license. In addition, a supervisor on duty that day was only in the process of obtaining a Temporary Jailers License. Any jailer who supervises inmates must be licensed as specified and, before being promoted, county jail supervisors must possess a permanent jailer’s license.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.

This website offers posts intended to assist current and previous Texas county jail prisoners. There is never an intention to suggest that individuals or organizations have engaged in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor

Within a span of 17 days, two Montgomery County Jail inmates in Conroe, Texas, died while suffering from the flu. The men who died were 35-year-old Carl Bible and 41-year-old Mosheer Rashid, and both reportedly had a number of other underlying health issues prior to catching the flu. After their deaths were made public, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office was compelled to provide assurances that during seasons when colds and the flu are common, inmate areas are sanitized.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) is the entity in Texas responsible to establish and enforce minimum jail standards. Of course, having guidelines in place is not a guarantee that jails will comply. In fact, jails in Texas are reported as being non-compliant every year. Issues related to medical care are the topics of the majority of complaints against Texas county jails.

The following is an example of a case in which an inmate in a county jail died and then allegations of denial of medical care were made.

Deceased Inmate is an Alleged Victim of Deliberate Indifference

• A 46-year-old woman died in the custody of a county jail and, afterward, multiple complaints were made regarding alleged medical neglect, abuse, and displays of deliberate indifference on the part of jail staff members. The woman’s obvious signs of worsening health were routinely ignored. Allegedly, in her last hours in the jail, the inmate begged for water but was denied. She was finally taken to a hospital for emergency care, but she was reportedly beyond help by that time and died soon after.

See Part 1 of this continuing series.

Posts on this website are intended as helpful aids to inmates in Texas county jails, whether they are current or past prisoners. There is never an intention on this site to infer misdeeds on individuals or entities.

–Guest Contributor

On December 19, 2017, 41-year-old Mosheer Rashid died at Conroe Regional Medical Center in the custody of Montgomery County Jail in Conroe, Texas, and another inmate died 17 days later. Thirty-five-year-old Carl Bible and Rashid are both believed to have died of the flu, though both reportedly had multiple medical issues. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office released a statement after the fatalities saying that prisoner areas are sanitized during cold and flu season.

Inmates in Texas jails have a right to necessary medical care. In many stories about deceased inmates in jails across the nation, it eventually comes to light that inmates were denied care until they had to be taken to an emergency room.

In Texas, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) and the Texas Rangers both conduct investigations of all custodial deaths. Records are checked against minimum jail standards to see if the jail was compliant when inmates died, whether they died of natural causes or suicide.

The quality of medical care in county jails in Texas is put into question when complaints issued to TCJS are given consideration. Most complaints are related to medical care, such as denial of care, alleged substandard care, failure to distribute prescriptions, and other issues.

Learn more in this ongoing series. In the next segment, specifics on alleged denial of medical care in the case of a deceased former inmate will be shared.

This website offers posts routinely for the purpose of providing assistance to former and current prisoners in Texas county jails. There is no intent on this site to suggest that persons or organizations committed wrongs.

–Guest Contributor

After he had been incarcerated at the Bexar County Jail in San Antonio, Texas, for one week, 35-year-old Ryan O’Shea was found nonresponsive with a bedsheet around his neck like a noose. Tragically, he died the same day, on January 21, 2021.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) requires jails to collect information and fill out a Suicide and Medical/Mental/Developmental Impairments Form, which is part of intake screening. TCJS says in the instructions for filling out the form that intake screening is the first step in determining which inmates are in need of specialized mental health assessment. In addition, intake screening is designed to identify patients who may be suicidal. The form achieves three primary goals, as follows:

• Help sheriffs fulfill statute requirements, including Code of Criminal Procedure §16.22, which is the protocol when an inmate has signs of an intellectual disability or suffers from mental illness.
• Create a suicide risk assessment that is objective and provides clear guidance that will signal front-line employees that it is time to notify magistrates, mental health providers, or superiors.
• Ensure that the form is user-friendly so that Texas county jailers with a wide range of experience will know how to correctly fill out the form.

Non-Compliance in Suicide Screening

On a jail inspection report dated late April 2021, the TCGS inspector indicates non-compliance with respect to the requirement for completing an approved mental disabilities/suicide prevention screening instrument at the time of booking, as follows:

• It was determined while reviewing medical files that members of the staff at the jail are not filling out the Screening Form for Suicide and Medical/Mental/Developmental Impairments to completion.

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

The posts on this website are added as potential resources that could help Texas county jail prisoners, both former and current. It is not intended on this site to infer wrongs on the part of persons or organizations.

–Guest Contributor

Ryan O’Shea was only 35 years old when he committed suicide at the Bexar County Jail in San Antonio, Texas. A deputy entered O’Shea’s cell after noticing his food had not been touched. The decedent was discovered hanging by his neck from a bedsheet.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) addresses inmate suicide by adding measures for suicide prevention in the mandatory guideline for Texas county jails. Making sure that inmates are routinely and frequently given face-to-face supervision is of key importance and yet these are often the minimum jail standards found to be violated when the jails are inspected by TCJS each year.

As a way of verifying the required face-to-face checks of potentially suicidal and mentally ill inmates, TCJS added a new requirement that all jails were supposed to have adhered to no later than August 31, 2020. That requirement is found in the following rule.

Texas Administrative Code TITLE 37, Part 9, Chapter 275, RULE §275.1 – Regular Observation by Jailers

• Installation of either electronic sensors or cameras is required where inmates in high-risk groups of cells or cells are located. The equipment must be able to record the personal observation of inmates that are required every 30 minutes at most or every 15 minutes at most, depending on the situation. Installation is required to be in place not later than the 31st of August 2020.

See Part 1 and this ongoing series.

This website aims to assist inmates currently or formerly incarcerated in county jails in Texas. There is never an intent on this site to imply that individuals or institutions have engaged in improprieties.

–Guest Contributor

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, in Beaumont, Texas, filed a report with the State of Texas regarding the death of Anthony Wayne Gray. Mr. Gray was 58 years old at the time of his death. We provide in this post information we obtained from that report, and we do not allege any wrongdoing regarding Mr. Gray’s death.

The custodial death report indicates that Mr. Gray exhibited mental health problems. It also provides a summary, as follow:

“On 4/13/2021 at about 1314 hours Anthony Wayne Gray B/M dob X/X/1963 was booked into the Jefferson County Correctional Facility. While in custody Gray was treated for difficulty breathing due to pre-existing medical conditions by medical staff. On 5/8/2021 Gray was sent to Baptist Hospital 3080 College St. Beaumont, Texas, by medical staff as his condition deteriorated. On 5/8/2021 Gray was admitted into Baptist Hospital and eventually moved to ICU. On 5/9/2021 at about 2015 hours it was reported that Gray went into severe medical distress possibly cardiac arrest. At about 2028 hours the attending Dr. Choi pronounced Gray deceased. Justice of the Peace Ben Collins was contacted and ordered an autopsy. The results are pending. The Texas Rangers were also contacted as the assigned investigation agency.”

Therefore, the report provides no information regarding what treatment Mr. Gray was receiving in the Jefferson County, Texas jail from April 13, 2021 to May 8, 2021. Mr. Gray would have been entitled, pursuant to the United States Constitution, to receive reasonable medical care. This right is guaranteed pursuant to the 14^th Amendment.

On the eighth day of his incarceration at Bexar County Jail in San Antonio, Texas, 35-year-old Ryan O’Shea took his own life. A deputy who noticed that he had not eaten his meal entered O’Shea’s cell and found him hanging from his neck with a sheet.

Inmate suicide is a major issue in jails across the US because the suicide rate in lockups is significantly higher than in the general population. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) addresses suicide in the minimum jail standards that all Texas county jails are required to uphold. Many jails in Texas are cited for non-compliance in areas associated with ensuring that inmates are safe from harm, whether that harm is caused by themselves or others.

Inmate Supervision

Studies show that the most effective deterrent to custodial suicide is supervision. For that reason, the face-to-face observation of inmates who are at risk for suicide must occur every 30 minutes at most whereas the general population is observed in a face-to-face encounter every 60 minutes. This extra measure of safety is a requirement and, yet, jail inspection reports often show non-compliance when observation records are examined.

Violation of Minimum Jail Standards

As reflected in an April 2021 Jail Inspection Report, an inspector with TCJS found that there was a violation in regard to the observations that must be performed every 30 minutes for the purpose of helping to ensure the safety of potentially suicidal inmates as well as mentally ill and assaultive inmates. The inspector simply indicated that jailers exceeded the 30-minute face-to-face inmate observations.

Learn more in this ongoing series.

The purpose of this website is to supply county jail inmates in Texas with potentially helpful resources. There is no intention to infer wrongs on the part of persons or entities.

–Guest Contributor