Helen Renee Jackson was 53 years old when she died of unknown causes in Denton County Jail on December 29, 2021. One of the questions on the custodial death report (CDR) asks whether the decedent had received treatment for the medical condition that caused her death. The answer given by the Denton County Sheriff’s Office was “Unknown.” The pending results of the autopsy from the medical examiner or coroner are expected to reveal the cause of death.

Two Denton County Jail Inmates Die in About 2-Week’s Time

In the summer of 2017, two inmates at Denton County Jail died. A woman is believed to have died of suicide on August 15. Records indicated that the second Denton County Jail inmate who died that summer likely died from ingesting drugs.

Who Investigates the Deaths of Texas Inmates?

Within 24 hours of an inmate’s death, the jail has a responsibility to report the custodial death to The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). From there, TCJS appoints a law enforcement agency other than the agency responsible for the jail’s operation to conduct an investigation into the death. In most cases, the Texas Rangers are asked to investigate custodial deaths in the state.

A watchdog group released an April 1, 2022, publication stating that when it comes to the investigations of inmate deaths, the Texas Rangers are “often lackadaisical.” The article cites the use of outdated techniques like hypnosis to investigate cases. The publication also intimated that it would be more effective if investigations into custodial deaths were performed by an outside state-level agency.

See Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this ongoing series. The intention of this website is to reach out to city and county jail prisoners in Texas