A Bexar County Detainee Dies-2
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office filed a custodial death report (CDR) about Ed Penix on October 24, 2023. Mr. Penix was 63 years old when he was pronounced deceased on October 10, 2023, his sixth day of incarceration in Bexar County Jail in San Antonio, Texas. The intake process appears to be incomplete because the answer to two standard questions is “unknown,” those questions being whether he exhibited any medical or mental health problems. It is only in the summary of how Mr. Penix’s death occurred that specifics about his medical condition are provided.
A Detainee Dies by Suicide in Bexar County Jail
William James Shandore was 34 years old when he went through intake in Bexar County Jail. Tragically, he died in jail nine days later, on February 19, 2021. The first two weeks of incarceration have been identified as the deadliest days, in terms of detainees committing suicide. Mr. Shandore was within that time frame when suicide prevention measures in Bexar County Jail presumably failed.
Mr. Shandore’s cause of death was asphyxia by hanging. Since hanging is the method used in more than 92% of suicides, jail staff who go through mandatory suicide prevention training are aware of the vulnerability of detainees to this method of taking their own life.
Learn more in Part 1 and this continuing series.
Among other reasons, this website was created to provide detainees in local Texas jails and their families with helpful resources. There is no intention of making insinuations that persons or entities have engaged in wrongdoing.
–Guest Contributor
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