When Lorelei Then Palmore entered Grayson County Jail in Sherman, Texas, she was 63 years old. During booking, she informed officers that she was withdrawing from meth. Three days later, after being transferred from the jail to a medical facility, Ms. Palmore died. Her cause of death is pending autopsy results.

A Custodial Death Occurs Despite a Clear Warning

Early on March 30, 2022, in a county jail outside of Texas, an inmate informed officers that he, essentially, was going to do physical harm to a cellmate. Nothing was done as far as preventing violence, and the next few minutes were without supervision from a jail staff member. When approximately 8 minutes had passed, there was a call to retrieve a body.

Apparently, as promised, the inmate attacked his cellmate. As he was moved to a holding cell, he told officers that “it was him or me.” He later confessed that he punched the man in the gut, choked him using the jail sink, and stabbed him in one eye with a pencil.

The injured inmate was transported to a hospital but, tragically, he died two days later. A criminal investigation and an internal investigation are underway. An anonymous spokesperson said that it is fairly common for inmates to claim that they are going to have an altercation with cell mates. What is not common is for direct threats to be ignored for as long as 10 minutes.

For more information, see Part 1 of this ongoing series.

Implying that an individual or entity is a participant in acts of wrongdoing is never intended on this website. Providing inmates with helpful resources is the reason for each post on this site. Specifically, the aim is to assist county jail inmates in Texas.

–Guest Contributor