Inmate Dylan Baylacq, of Forest Hills, Died While In Custody At The Marin County Jail In San Rafael

MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA (October 14, 2023) – A 21-year-old inmate identified as Dylan Baylacq has tragically died while staying at the Marin County Jail in San Rafael.

Marin County officials are saying that the incident began around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday. Correctional officers were performing a welfare check when they noticed Dylan Baylacq was unresponsive in his jail cell.

Jail officials said that the inmate was hanging in his cell. Jail medical staff entered the cell and began life-saving measures which were taken over by paramedics.

Despite those efforts, Dylan Baylacq was pronounce dead around 2:30 a.m. that same day. A full investigation remains ongoing at this time.

 

Liability For Marin County Inmate Deaths

Suicide is one of the major causes of inmate death across the United States. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “A total of 340 persons in state and federal prisons and 355 persons in local jails died by suicide in 2019, the Bureau of Justice Statistics announced today.  The number of suicides in local jails increased 5% from 2018 to 2019, while suicides in state and federal prisons were stable.” Jails should take a number of measures to help prevent inmate suicides.

• Inmate should get a proper mental health screening when they are first admitted.
• Correctional officers should be trained to recognize the signs an inmate is in serious psychological distress.
• Jails should provide inmates with proper mental health care.
• Jails should do their best to provide inmates with lives worth living.

Jails have a legal responsibility to provide inmates with proper healthcare. This includes care for an inmate’s mental health. If a jail is deliberately indifferent to the prospect that an inmate may harm themselves, this could form the basis of a constitutional claim. For example, a jail may have known that an inmate was likely to attempt suicide based on what they said and still failed to act. There are many ways that a jail may have failed to act in order to prevent a suicide.

• A jail may have failed to put an inmate in a cell designed for inmates with suicidal thoughts.
• A jail may have failed to properly monitor an inmate at risk of suicide.
• A jail may have failed to assess whether or not an inmate was at risk of suicide.

It can be hard to know where to begin after any inmate dies in custody. To make matters worse, it is common for jails to deny any responsibility if an inmate dies in their care. But the truth of the matter is that many jail suicides and other in-custody deaths are preventable. The family of any person that dies at a jail may have legal recourse through a constitutional claim. It is essential that evidence is properly preserved after any in custody death.

Investigating Marin County Jail Inmate Deaths

We at the Sehat Law Firm extend our deepest condolences to the family of Dylan Baylacq. Any person that may have more information about what happened should reach out to investigators. Every inmate deserves to be treated with care, compassion and dignity regardless of what they are accused of doing. It is our sincere hope that steps are taken to prevent other tragedies like this.

Do you need more information about an inmate death at the Marin County Jail? Our team of civil rights advocates are here to help in any way that we can. We care deeply that inmates are aware of their rights and that those rights are being protected. Whether you just have legal questions or need a free, independent investigation into any incident we are here for you. You can reach out to us anytime at (949) 825-5200.