Justin Joshua Flores had been in El Paso County Jail in El Paso, Texas, for ten days when he was pronounced dead on December 6, 2021. The cause of his death is unknown and pending an autopsy. Mr. Flores was only 31 years old when he died.

Continuing from Part 1 of this series, the family of the young man incarcerated in a county jail outside of Texas said that they made repeated attempts to advise the jail staff about his health conditions and needed treatment. They say that their efforts were ignored.

The inmate experienced deteriorating health, including difficulty breathing and chest pains, after being at the jail for weeks. He lost almost 15 pounds, and he was already slim. The young man tried to get treatment but medical care was continually denied. 

Another 2 weeks passed and the inmate began receiving treatment. First, a chest x-ray was performed. It showed that he had excessive fluid around his lungs, which was recognized as a complication of his heart condition. That same day, the inmate began having seizures. His heart stopped and he was resuscitated several times. He was intubated and transferred to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead several days later.

 An investigation showed that the county jails in that state saw an increase in inmate deaths of 50% from 2010 to 2019, even though the average number of inmates dropped.

Learn more in this ongoing series.

Insinuating that individuals or institutions have participated in misdeeds is not intended on this website. Each post on this site is meant as a potentially helpful resource for prisoners in Texas county jails.

–Guest Contributor