Forty-three-year-old Robert Cantu died at Bexar County Jail on September 21, 2020. His death occurred hours after being booked into the facility. The custodial death report shows that it was a drug-related death.

The leading cause of death in jails across the U.S. is suicide. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), in charge of operations in Texas county jails, sometimes updates minimum jail standards to improve measures related to suicide prevention.

This practice of making changes to save lives occurs in other states, as well. For example, in a county jail outside of Texas, two inmates, ages 28 and 38, committed suicide in the same way within a 2-month period. In both instances, materials used to commit suicide were attached to openings in metal ventilation grates. The grates were in private cells with 9-foot-tall walls. The jail took action by replacing grates in the 120 cells where they had been included during 1980s construction. 

Ironically, when speaking about the grates in the jail, a deputy in the area made a statement categorized as a myth about suicides. He said that it is almost impossible to stop an inmate from self-harm if they are strongly motivated to hurt or kill themselves. Research shows, in fact, that most jail deaths are preventable. Certain myths about suicide can threaten the lives of inmates because they can instill inactivity in those who buy into the inaccuracies.

Learn more in Part 1 and this ongoing series.

At no time does this website intend to implicate individuals or institutions in wrongdoing. The purpose of each post on this site is to provide helpful resources that could benefit inmates currently or previously detained in a Texas county jail.

–Guest Contributor