After her tragic death at age 53, a custodial death report (CDR) was prepared on Helen Renee Jackson by the Sheriff’s Office in Denton County. The CDR indicates that the jail’s medical staff at Denton County Jail saw Ms. Jackson multiple times during her stay there as an inmate, which was November 17, 2021, through the date of her death the next month on December 29. One of the last actions before she was found nonresponsive was that Ms. Jackson was moved via wheelchair into Holding Cell 1 for closer observation.

A Denton County Jail Inmate Dies on December 30, 2018

Another custodial death that occurred in Denton County Jail in Denton, Texas, happened on December 30, 2018. Forty-nine-year-old Stacy Ranard Wright was booked into the jail just two days earlier, on December 28. Notes made during the booking process include that the inmate made suicidal statements and exhibited mental health problems.

Prior to his arrival in Denton, Mr. Wright had been arrested by officers with the Plano Police Department on warrants issued by the City of Dallas and Denton County. On December 25, 2018, he was transferred to the Collin County Jail from the Plano City Jail. Then, on the 28^th, he was transferred from the Collin County Jail to the Denton County Jail.

The CDR on Mr. Wright indicates that he complained of abdominal pain and shortness of breath the day before his death. He had been housed in the A-2-C medical cell in the main facility of the jail when detention staff found that he was unresponsive.

Also noted on the CDR is that the custodial death investigation would be conducted by Texas Ranger Clair Barnes.

The autopsy conducted by the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the causes of death to be:

• Hypertensive and Ischemic Heart Disease
• Alcoholic Liver Disease with Cirrhosis

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 of this series.

This website seeks to provide help to inmates in Texas incarcerated in city and county jails, whether they are now or were previously detained. Insinuating that persons or organizations have engaged in misdeeds is never intended on this website.

–Guest Contributor