Gilbert Kervlis died in the custody of Bexar County Jail in San Antonio, Texas, at the age of 48. He was booked into the jail on September 26, 2020. Two days later Mr. Kervlis was discovered in his cell with a sheet tied around his neck. He was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died on October 1, 2020.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) includes suicide prevention in the operational requirements for the state’s county jails. Statistics show that suicide is the leading cause of death in local jails across the country. The training of jail staff members is a key element in helping to ensure that inmates do no harm to themselves while incarcerated.

Statistics on Suicides in Local Jails

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) recently released a report about suicides in local jails as well as in state and federal prisons. The information that follows pertains to local jails. 

• A total of 355 local jail inmates died by suicide in the year 2019. Of the jails operating above their design or rated capacity, 13% of them had one or more suicides. Of the local jails housing 1,000 inmates or more, more than half reported at least one inmate suicide.
• Between 2001 and 2019, the annual suicide count in local jails increased by 13%.

Learn more in this continuing series.

This website never intends to suggest that persons or institutions have been participants in misdeeds of any kind. The purpose of this site is to supply inmates in county jails in Texas with helpful resources.

–Guest Contributor