This week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that it is going to examine the recent deaths at the jail. A spokesperson announced that federal rights violations are being investigated, but the details of the ongoing process will not be publicly shared.

An Inmate’s Cause of Death is Blunt Force Injury to the Head

A 23-year-old who died at the jail in 2021 was incarcerated there for a week when detention officers who were distributing lunch found him unresponsive and lying face down in his cell. The officers immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and the medical staff was called. Medical personnel continued lifesaving measures and transported the inmate to the jail clinic. The local fire department was called, after which paramedics arrived and assumed care. The inmate was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

After an autopsy was completed, the custodial death report was amended to show that the manner of death was a homicide, which includes justifiable homicide. The medical cause of death is listed as “Blunt force injuries of the head with subdural hematoma.”

The sheriff’s department reported that 70-plus interviews were conducted regarding the death. In addition, all of the approximately 1,500 cameras within the jail were checked and whatever confrontation resulted in the custodial death was not captured on video.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, and this ongoing series.

Out of a desire to provide helpful resources to Texas municipal and county jail inmates, this website was created. There is never an intention of insinuating that anyone or any organization has been a participant in wrongdoing.

–Guest Contributor