On July 13, 2023, a custodial death report (CDR) about 60-year-old Jose Trinidad Barrera was filed by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office in San Antonio, Texas. Mr. Barrera died in the custody of Bexar County Jail at St. Luke’s Baptist Hospital in San Antonio. An autopsy was completed, and it indicates that  Mr. Barrera died of complications of an intraventricular hemorrhagic stroke.

Does the Texas Heat Cause Inmate Deaths in County Jails? Continued

At least nine inmates who died in Texas lockups during this heat wave have died of heart attacks or unknown causes in various locations lacking air conditioning. Two of the men were in their 30s.

One 35-year-old man, who we will refer to as Inmate 1, was living in a stifling hot Huntsville prison. Although he was thirsty and exhausted, he set to work mowing sun-scorched fields on a recent morning. Inmate 1 collapsed and died by midday.

Along with four other prisoners, Inmate 1 died in mid-June, and the criminal justice system says cardiac arrest caused these deaths. The regions where they occurred were more than 100º F, according to an analysis of weather data and inmate death reports.

It is not clear at this time how much of a role heat may have played in these nine custodial deaths. They are all being investigated, and it is too soon to label them as heat-related.

Learn more in Part 1 and this ongoing series.

One of the reasons this website was created was to provide Texas inmates in municipal and county jails and their families with helpful resources. There is no intention of making accusations against individuals or entities on this site.

–Guest Contributor