After Kristen Anthony Cabezas was discovered having a seizure in a multiple-occupancy cell at Fort Bend County Jail in Richmond, Texas, a supervising deputy called for assistance. Medical staff members at the jail initiated CPR, which was continued by EMS personnel. Mr. Cabezas was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:42 PM on March 23, 2022.

Suicide prevention measures are essential in jails, where suicide is the leading cause of death. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) requires all county jails in the state to plan and implement a suicide prevention program. Major components of strategies for preventing inmate suicide include the booking process, appropriate housing, adequately training members of the jail staff, and strictly supervising potentially suicidal inmates.

Jail systems apparently face many challenges as counties are strapped with the expenses associated with the incarceration of mentally ill and alcohol and/or drug-addicted inmates. For instance, research shows that a strong method of inmate suicide prevention is to avoid leaving an inmate in isolation. Yet, it seems that suicidal inmates are invariably placed in isolation. The required face-to-face observations that must occur in intervals not to exceed every 30 minutes do not provide sufficient supervision to prevent acts of inmate suicide.

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

Making implications that people or organizations are participants in wrongdoing is never intended on this website. This site’s posts are intended as resources helpful to inmates in Texas county jails.

–Guest Contributor