Robert Cantu died at age 43 on September 21, 2020, a short time after being booked into Bexar County Jail in San Antonio, Texas. The custodial death report shows that the medical cause of death was the combined effects of a dilated enlarged heart and methamphetamine toxicity.

Continuing from the previous post regarding suicide prevention, the following are some of the myths about inmate suicide that could cause individuals to fail to act at crucial times. The following are just a couple of examples, though there are quite a few suicide myths.

Two Myths About Inmate Suicide

Myth 1: People don’t normally attempt suicide, even after threatening to kill themselves or saying things that make them seem suicidal. This is wrong! Research shows that most people who succeed at killing themselves have previously made direct or indirect statements showing their clear intentions. About 4 out of 5 suicide victims give unmistakable warnings about what they intend to do. 

Myth 2: People who have tried to commit suicide in the past won’t try it again because they got it out of their system. Wrong again! People who have previously attempted suicide are at a greater risk of actually succeeding in the act. The fact that they attempted suicide already broke the taboo against the act. In other words, having tried it previously makes it even easier to attempt suicide additional times. 

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.

There is never an intention on this website to make an inference that any person or entity has engaged in acts of wrongdoing. The purpose of the posts on this site is to supply helpful resources to current and previous prisoners detained in Texas county jails.

–Guest Contributor