Richard Altamirano arrived at Bexar County Jail in San Antonio, Texas, on November 5, 2021. Three days later, after Mr. Altamirano reportedly refused a diabetic check, a Corporal arrived to his cell and initiated a code for medical help. Mr. Altamirano was moved to a medical facility, where a physician pronounced him dead at approximately 3:32 AM on November 8, 2021.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has the responsibility of creating the guidelines for minimum jail standards in all of the state’s county jails. The required health services plan that serves to guide operations in Texas county jails includes a right to refuse medical care. 

RULE §273.2(9) 

• In accordance with informed consent standards for certain procedures and treatments, inmates have the right to refuse health care.

The Sandra Bland Act

After the high-profile, controversial death of Sandra Bland in Waller County Jail on July 13, 2015, in Hempstead, Texas, the Sandra Bland Act was passed and signed into law on September 1, 2017. The law mandates telemental health access, though telehealth had been accessible in U.S. prisons for decades.

In addition to meeting the demands of the new law, telemedicine also helps to mitigate the high cost of healthcare access in county jails.

The Sandra Bland Act addresses various issues in addition to improving access to mental health resources. For instance, the law has prompted a change in law enforcement training, the equipping of jails, and the resources available to people with intellectual differences and substance abuse problems.

See this continuing series.

There is no intention on this website to make an implication of wrongdoing on anyone’s or any entity’s part. Each of the posts on this site is meant as a potentially helpful resource for inmates now or formerly housed in a Texas county jail.

–Guest Contributor