On February 10, 2022, Simon Peter Douglas died less than 3 hours after being booked into Harris County Jail, which is located in Houston, Texas. In that short period of time, he first tried to commit suicide using a ligature. After being moved into a padded room, he committed suicide by banging his head against a metal grate, the door, and the walls.

Billy Wayne Dunn Dies on 9/28/21 in the Custody of Harris County Jail

On September 23, 2021, 47-year-old Billy Wayne Dunn was booked into Harris County Jail in Houston, Texas. Five days later, he was found nonresponsive in his cell. A sheet was tied around his neck and the top of the cell door. Life-saving measures instigated by the jail’s medical staff were continued by Houston Fire Department paramedics and the staff at Houston’s St. Joseph Hospital. Mr. Dunn died on September 28, 2021.

Two February 2021 Custodial Deaths at Harris County Jail

There were at least two custodial deaths at Harris County Jail in 2021 that were caused by medical issues. Jaquaree Simmons and Justin Michael Henderson died in Harris County Jail in February last year. Mr. Henderson had been at the jail from December 9, 2020, through the date of his death on February 4, 2021. Jaquaree Simmons died on February 17, 2021, after one week at the jail. Details about these custodial deaths at Harris County Jail will be provided in the next segment of this series.

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

Making implications that persons or entities have been involved in wrongdoing is never intended on this site. Providing helpful resources to inmates in Texas county jails is the purpose of this site’s posts.

–Guest Contributor