On February 8, 2021, 46-year-old David Brian Hamilton died in the custody of Parker County Jail in Weatherford, Texas. Mr. Hamilton hung himself and died from strangulation. 

A report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics revealed that more than 1,000 inmates died in local U.S. jails in the year 2016. The report highlighted the dangers of incarceration. The most disturbing aspect of the report is that of at least half of the 1,000 deaths that were reviewed, more than half were preventable deaths. Suicide was the leading cause of custodial death, the same as current data shows.

Preventable deaths occur in jail systems for various reasons. One is a result of healthcare and jail systems that are inadequate to care for serious health issues that inmates suffer. Another statistic that sheds light on what is happening in our local jails is that jail populations are five times more likely than the general population to have a serious mental health issue. Two-thirds of those inmates also have a substance use disorder.

Jail inmates are also more likely to have infectious diseases and chronic health conditions. The shock of confinement causes many inmates to experience serious mental health crises. In spite of all these facts and figures, a reality is that jails are, in general, not able to provide inmates with effective medical care and mental health care.

See Part 1 and this ongoing series.

The purpose of each post on this website is to help county jail inmates in Texas. There is no intention on this site to make an implication of wrongdoing on the part of any person or institution. 

–Guest Contributor