The custodial death report on Zachary Daniels that was filled out by the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office indicated that Mr. Daniels had made suicidal statements and exhibited mental health problems. He was housed in a single cell and hung himself using a bedsheet. He died at age 22 on February 4, 2022.

Custodial death reports that have been filed up to today indicate that Mr. Daniels is one of six suicides in county jails that occurred in Texas in February 2022. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) requires all Texas county jails to report various occurrences, in addition to custodial deaths. Among those occurrences are attempted suicides and use of force incidents that resulted in bodily injury. For example, the serious incident report for January 2019 filed with TCJS showed that there was an attempted suicide and one use of force incident resulting in bodily injury in Fort Bend County.

When a suicide or bodily injury occurs in county jails, it is considered evidence that inmates need to be better protected. Multiple incidents in one jail give cause for alarm. In Harris County, for example, there were 12 suicide attempts and 16 incidents resulting in bodily injury in one month, according to the above-referenced serious incident report.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this series.

Making implications that individuals or organizations have engaged in misdeeds is never intended on this website. The purpose of posts is to help Texas county jail inmates, whether currently or previously detained.

–Guest Contributor