How Some Jails Treat Potentially Suicidal Inmates

Two former corrections officials told ABC News they were surprised to learn that Sandra Bland was not more closely monitored in a Texas jail after indicating she had previously tried to kill herself.

Bland, who was arrested after being pulled over for allegedly failing to use her turn signal in Hempstead and found dead in her cell three days later, wrote on the Waller County Jail's intake form that she had previously attempted suicide using pills.

But when asked whether she was "thinking about killing herself today" on the intake form, she answered no.

Mark Cranston, who worked at Riker's Island Correctional Facility in New York City for 25 years, rising to the rank of acting commissioner, said it is vital for inmates to receive a full medical and psychological evaluation while in jail. Bland's 15-page intake report includes answers to questions about her health, but Waller County Sheriff officials have not indicated that she was ever seen by a doctor.

"Because she said she had a prior suicide attempt, the fact that she said she was fine or feeling OK should not have removed the alert and should have still resulted in a follow-up mental health evaluation," Cranston, now the warden of the Middlesex County Jail in New Jersey, told ABC News.

The Chicago-area woman, 28, was taken into custody July 10 and found dead three days later, a chain of events that falls within what Cranston said was a particularly critical timeframe.

"Every jail administrator knows that inmates are the most vulnerable for suicide within the first 72 hours in custody and assessment tools and the diversion process to mental health professionals is of the utmost importance," Cranston said.

In both New York and New Jersey, individuals must complete a form similar to the intake form used in Waller County, self-identifying any personal connection to suicide, and Cranston said that if anyone answers yes to even one of the questions, it leads to an automatic referral to a mental health professional.

John Cohen, a former Department of Homeland Security under-secretary who previously worked as a police officer and had shifts in a local jail, said budget cuts have resulted in some law enforcement officers being tasked with assessing arrestees' mental health status.

"Increasingly, particularly because of budget cuts impacting the ability to provide mental health services, we are increasingly looking towards the criminal justice system to address the needs of those who have some underlying mental illness," said Cohen, who is now an ABC News consultant.

"If you do have someone in your custody who an officer said was agitated or acting erratically, particularly in the booking process, if they indicate to you that they've tried suicide in the past, it's critical that you monitor them closely," he said.