Category: Medical Care

The Hill County jail, in Hillsboro, Texas, is now listed as being non-compliant by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”). The TCJS conducted an inspection on February 25, 2021. The TCJS inspector determined, after reviewing documentation received in response to a complaint, that an inmate was placed on disciplinary restrictions without a signed waiver or appearing before a disciplinary board. Hopefully, the Hill County jail will bring itself into compliance with Texas minimum standards.

The Van Zandt County jail in Canton, Texas failed a January 25, 2021 inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”). The Van Zandt County jail is now listed as being a non-compliant jail by the TCJS. Hopefully, the Van Zandt County jail will bring itself into compliance.

The TCJS inspector noted that restraint chair logs showed that Van Zandt County jail staff exceeded the required 15-minute observation checks by as few as one minute, but by as long as seventeen minutes, on multiple occasions. This is a serious problem, as inmates put into restraint chairs are purportedly those who exhibit behavior indicating that they are a danger to themselves and others. At some point, keeping a person strapped into a restraint chair could become torture and moreover violate the United States Constitution.

The TCJS inspector also found that the Van Zandt County jail violated a minimum standard regarding staff supervision. The TCJS inspector noted that inmate workers in the kitchen were preparing inmate meal trays without immediately staff supervision.

The Dallas County jail, in Dallas, Texas, recently failed a multi-day inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”).  Thus, the Dallas County jail is now listed as being non-compliant by the TCJS.

TCJS inspectors noted five areas in which the Dallas County jail failed to comply with minimum jail standards. First, when TCJS inspectors were reviewing annual certification audit documentation, they noted that required inmate classification reassessments exceeded the required 30-to-90 day reassessment window by as few as three days to as many as twenty-three days on multiple occasions.

Moreover, the TCJS determined, when reviewing inmate files and disciplinary records, that Dallas County was not conducting reassessments immediately upon any disciplinary action. Reassessments after inmate disciplinary action were conducted anywhere from ten days to eighty-three days after the disciplinary action was taken.

Further, through inmate and staff interviews, TCJS inspectors determined that indigent inmates held over 48 hours were not receiving required personal care items. The TCJS also determined that complaints received by the TCJS concerning personal hygiene items were founded.

TCJS inspectors also determined that inmates housed in the West Tower on suicide watch were not afforded access to the dayroom for at least one hour each day. Moreover, they had not had the opportunity to shower anywhere from a minimum of two days to as many as fifteen days as a result. This is clearly inhumane.

Finally, TCJS inspectors determined, through interviews of staff and inmates, that the indigent inmates were not receiving paper, pencils, envelopes, and stamps. Once again, the TCJS determined that complaints it had received regarding such items were in fact founded.

The Dallas County jail holds thousands of people, on a daily basis. It is very important that it bring itself into compliance minimum jail standards to protect not only inmates, but also jail staff.

The Kimble County jail, in Junction, Texas, is now listed as being non-compliant by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”). The Kimble County jail failed a March 2, 2021 inspection.

The TCJS inspector determined that the Kimble County, Texas jail violated three minimum standards. First, the Kimble County jail violated the standard that all medical instructions of designated physicians be followed. The TCJS inspector noted that inmate medication log/MARS forms completed by jailers demonstrated that jailers were not administering medication as ordered by a prescribing physician.

Second, the TCJS inspector was unable to verify that suicide prevention training has been provided to jailers, in accordance with the approved operational plan, since January 6, 2020. Our Texas civil rights law firm has found such training to be extremely important, as we have unfortunately handled a number of jail suicide cases in Texas. Jailers must receive appropriate training, and act on that training, to keep suicides from happening in Texas jails.

Finally, Kimble County jailers allegedly were not consistently following procedures, during intake screening, to identify inmates who are known to be or observed to be mentally disabled and/or potentially suicidal. Once again, it is extremely important to identify such inmates at the time of intake, as most suicides appear to happen within the first few hours or days of incarceration. Hopefully, the Kimble County, Texas jail will bring itself into compliance with minimum standards and in doing so assure the safety of its inmates.

Williamson County Jail in Georgetown, Texas 78626 is located at 306 W 4th Street. The jail’s bed capacity is 1,128, and the contact phone number is (512) 943-1365. Williamson County Jail’s operations are the responsibility of the Williamson County Sheriff. As with all Texas county jails, Williamson County Jail must meet minimum jail standards, which are created by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). Enforcement is achieved through annual jail inspections and, if found to be non-compliant, follow-up scrutiny.

Restraint Chairs

When it becomes necessary for county jail staff to gain control over an inmate who is threatening harm, restraints can be used. Among the TCJS-approved restraint devices are restraint chairs. Medical care provisions must be made from the start through the duration in which an inmate is restrained. For example, no inmate should be placed in a restraint until a medical professional has determined the individual’s health condition. Members of the jail staff are required by minimum jail standards to follow directives given by medical personnel regarding placement in and removal from a restraint device.

Restraint chairs are controversial because they are associated with patterns of abuse as well as custodial deaths. The manufacturers of the chairs provide insight into the potential hazards associated with them because of the warnings given. For instance, serious injury or death could occur if an inmate is placed in a restraint chair by a person who either has not read or does not understand directions for use.

This website’s posts are designed as potential resources to help county jail prisoners in Texas who believe their rights may have been violated. On this site, it is never intended for improprieties to be inferred upon persons or institutions.

–Guest Contributor

The Sabine County jail, in Hemphill, Texas, is now listed as being non-compliant by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (“TCJS”). This determination occurred as a result of a January 19, 2021 inspection.

Our Texas law firm litigates a number of cases involving jail inmates who either do not receive medical and/or mental health care, and unfortunately die as a result either as a result of medical issues or suicide. Thus, it is important that county jails in Texas comply with minimum jail standards.

The TCJS determined that the Sabine County jail violated the standard requiring that inmates confined in a holding cell or detoxification cell be observed by jailers at intervals not exceeding 30 minutes. The TCJS inspector wrote that documentation showed that observations of inmates of the Sabine County jail exceeded this 30-minute interval, by as little as one minute, but as much as up to 30 minutes.

The Sabine County jail also violated the standard related to classification training. It is important that jailers be trained in classification of inmates, so that violent inmates are not confined with non-violent inmates, for example.

Finally, the TCJS inspector found that Sabine County jail administration was unable to provide documentation showing at least 4 hours of training regarding mentally disabled and/or potentially suicidal inmates. Such training was required pursuant to the Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan. Hopefully, the Sabine County jail will remedy these issues and once again become compliant with Texas minimum jail standards.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards recently conducted an inspection of the Sutton County jail, in  Sonora, Texas. The inspection occurred on January 29, 2021, and the Sutton County jail is now listed as being non-compliant by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

The Sutton County jail violated a minimum training provision. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspector wrote, “ The administration could not provide training documentation rosters indicating that suicide prevention training was provided to jailers in accordance with the approved operational plan.” Our law firm has found this training to be critical, as we have unfortunately litigated a number of jail suicide cases in Texas. Jails must train jailers how to look for signs of self-harm tendencies to avoid suicides. The 14^th Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right of pre-trial detainees in Texas to receive reasonable medical care and reasonable mental health care, as well as to be protected from their own suicidal tendencies.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Department, in Houston, Texas, filed a report regarding the custodial death of Justin Michael Henderson. Mr. Henderson was 35 years old at the time of his death. We provide in this post only information obtained from that report, and we do not allege any wrongdoing related to Mr. Henderson’s death.

The report was dated February 4, 2021, and it was filed with the Attorney General of Texas. The report indicates, as to whether Mr. Henderson made suicidal statements, “Unknown.” The report also indicates, regarding Mr. Henderson having any mental health problems, “Unknown.” Oddly, the report also indicates “unknown” regarding medical treatment and whether Mr. Henderson had exhibited any medical problems. Instead, the report provides only a brief summary:

“On December 9, 2020, the decedent was arrested and booked into the Harris County Jail by a Harris County Sheriff’s Office Deputy and charged with Evading Arrest in a Motor Vehicle. On February 4, 2021, inmates alerted detention officers the decedent made noises during his sleep and was unresponsive. Additional detention officers arrived and medical personnel were contacted. Medical staff arrived and CPR continued as the decedent was transported to the jail clinic. Houston Fire Department paramedics arrived, assumed care, and transported the decedent to St. Joseph Hospital. At 1:39 a.m., Dr. M. Shin pronounced death.”

Thus, we are uncertain as to what happened to Mr. Henderson, and the ultimate cause of his death. Aside from Mr. Henderson, generally, Texas jail prisoners must receive reasonable medical care from jailers. If jailers fail to provide medical care, then they, and possibly their county or city employers, could be liable in a federal lawsuit for damages.

The Tom Green County Sheriff’s Department, in San Angelo, Texas, reported the death of Celestino Perez to the Attorney General of Texas. Mr. Perez died after being in the Tom Green County jail. We make no allegation of any wrongdoing in this post but are instead simply providing information in that public death report.

The report indicates that Mr. Perez made suicidal statements but allegedly did not exhibit any mental health problems. The report also indicates nothing about when Mr. Perez was originally incarcerated in the Tom Green County jail. The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:

“On Saturday, January 02, 2021, at approximately 5:25 PM, Tom Green County Jail Officer Richard Villarreal was conducting jail checks when he became aware that Inmate Celestino Perez Jr. was not waking up for dinner. Officer Villarreal attempted to wake Inmate Perez but found Perez unresponsive. Officer Villarreal called for the medical staff to assist and at approximately 5:30 PM, Registered Nurse D.J. Thompson arrived at the cell and was unable to locate a pulse on Perez. At this time, R.N. Thompson began to administer CPR while the jail staff called 911 for an ambulance. At 5:47 PM, paramedics arrived and took over CPR. Despite the life-saving efforts of the medical personnel, Inmate Perez never regained consciousness and was pronounced deceased at 6:15 PM. Inmate Perez has a significant history of medical difficulties and received substantial medical treatment while incarcerated in the Tom Green County Detention Facility. During the last period of incarceration, Inmate Perez was taken to Shannon Medical Center on five occasions for doctor visits and treatment of various medical complaints. His medical file within the Tom Green County Detention Center consists of 357 pages. The Texas Rangers were summoned to the Tom Green County Detention Facility to conduct an in-custody death investigation. The body of Celestino Perez Jr. was ultimately transported to South Plains Forensic Pathology in Lubbock, Texas for autopsy.”

Texas jailers must provide reasonable medical care to inmates. Aside from being the decent thing to do, it is required by the United States Constitution. When jailers fail to do so, claims are sometimes brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C § 1983, and they are usually filed in federal court. This is just general information, and we once again make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone related to Mr. Perez’s death.

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, in San Antonio, Texas, filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas regarding the suicide death of an inmate. The inmate was Ryan O’Shea. Mr. O’Shea was only 35 years old at the time of his death. We provide information which we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone regarding Mr. O’Shea’s death.

The report indicates that Mr. O’Shea was taken into custody at the jail on January 13, 2021 at 11:52 p.m. It also indicates that he passed away on January 21, 2021 at 2:26 a.m. The report further notes that Mr. O’Shea did not make suicidal statements. However, in response to the question whether he exhibited any mental health problems, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office responded, “Unknown.” The summary portion of the report reads as follows:

“On January 21, 2021 at approximately 0203 hours while retrieving the breakfast trays, deputy P. Cortes #4536 noticed that inmate O’Shea, Ryan SID# 817060 did not eat. At this time deputy Cortes was unable to observe inmate O’Shea through the cell window even by utilizing his flashlight and opened the cell door. Inmate O’Shea was found hanging next to the door near the intercom speaker by his county issued sheet tied around his neck. Deputy Cortes utilized the rescue tool and cut the sheet. The Officer activated a Code 1 Blue followed by a Code 2 (Officer in need of assistance), chest compressions initiated by responding officers and continued by medical staff. Inmate O’Shea was pronounced dead at approximately 0226 hours by EMT Groff #1427 from the San Antonio Fire Department.”

Inmates are to be protected, if they are in Texas County jails, from known suicidal and/or self-harm tendencies. This is a guarantee pursuant to the 14^th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Jail prisoners in Texas also have a right to reasonable medical care. If these rights are violated, then the person whose rights are violated, or in the unfortunate event of the person’s death, certain family members of the person, can file a lawsuit in federal court.