A Smith County Jail inmate remains in critical condition after he allegedly tried to commit suicide in the facility’s clinic cell Saturday afternoon.
According to a press release, jail staff found an inmate unresponsive in the clinic cell at about 12:30 p.m. Saturday. When jail staffers entered the cell, they found that the man had tried to hang himself with his shirt, the press release stated.
Smith County detention deputies immediately cut the shirt off of the inmate and started administering CPR. When paramedics from UT Health EMS arrived at the jail, they continued doing CPR on the man, and they took him to CHRISTUS Mother Frances Hospital’s emergency room.
“While at the hospital, medical staff members were able to obtain a heartbeat, but no brain function has been detected,” the press release stated.