The Texas Rangers and the Criminal Investigations Division of Nueces County, Texas, will be investigating the October 2, 2022, death of 67-year-old Carlos S. Contreras. Mr. Contreras was an inmate of Nueces County Jail in Corpus Christi from September 27, 2022, to the date of his death, which occurred on his fifth day after going through the intake process. The cause of his death is unknown.

When Do Jail Deaths Most Often Occur?

Because suicide prevention is a focus of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), it is good to know that certain statistics can provide insights into that topic. For instance, the following is information about the median time served in a Texas county jail when an inmate dies, based on the type of death. The data is taken from an analysis of jail deaths that occurred from 2000 through 2018:

• Deaths from drug and alcohol intoxication occur on day 1.
• Suicides, on average, occur on day 9.
• Deaths resulting from an accident occur after 10 days.
• The median time in which all custodial deaths occur is 17 days.
• Homicide, on average, is a cause of death after 29 days.
• Deaths resulting from illness typically occur on day 33.

Women were the key driver of population growth in jails, and the mortality rate among women was 7%. Research shows that women die in local Texas jails of drug and alcohol intoxication at double the rate of men. The study also shows that women are more likely than males to have drugs in their system when they enter jail.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this continuing series.

The purpose of establishing this website was and still is to provide help to Texas inmates detained in local or county jails in Texas. Implying that people or organizations have participated in wrongdoing is never intended.

–Guest Contributor