Ryan Adam Legg was booked into the Bexar County Jail on March 21, 2022, at age 36. Although his cause of death is pending, per the custodial death report (CDR), the presumed cause is suicide. On March 24, 2022, the day of his death, Mr. Legg was discovered with a sheet around his neck in the multiple-occupancy cell where he was housed. The sheet was attached to a light fixture.

William James Shandore

At age 34, William James Shandore was booked into Bexar County Jail on February 10, 2022. Nine days later, he was discovered in his single cell hanging by a sheet from a vent over the sink. Life-saving measures began quickly. The first responders from the San Antonio Fire Department were among those who continued CPR, but he was pronounced dead on February 19, 2022. At the time of booking, answers to several questions were not completed as required during intake. For example, the CDR has “unknown” as the answer to such questions as whether the inmate made suicidal statements or exhibited any mental health problems.

Tragically, suicides in Bexar County Jail in San Antonio, Texas, are nothing new. Failing to provide proper supervision of inmates resulted in the 10-day suspension of a Bexar County Sheriff’s Office detention officer in March 2017. This news account brought to light custodial suicides at the jail in 2016 and allegations that some officers used the electronic system intended to verify face-to-face observations to make it appear that required checks were being made.

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

Suggesting that a person or institution has been a participant in misdeeds is not intended on this website. Helping inmates in county jails in the state of Texas is the purpose of each post on this site.

–Guest Contributor