Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn filed a custodial death report (CDR) about the June 27, 2023, death of Jo Ann Lemmons on July 19, 2023. Ms. Lemmons was 55 when she died. Her cause of death is unknown and pending the results of an autopsy. Ms. Lemmons was at John Peter Smith Hospital (JPSH) in Fort Worth, Texas, when she was pronounced deceased. The address of JPSH is 1500 S Main St, Fort Worth, TX 76104.

23 Texas Inmates Have Died of Unknown Causes Since the June 2023 Heat Wave Continued

Indoor temperatures for inmates may have topped 110º F, according to some estimates. The weeks-long heat wave in June was brutal, especially for people incarcerated in Texas lockups, which most do not have air conditioning. The guards as well as many inmates have struggled and made their misery known.

Of the 32 inmates who died in June 2023 in Texas jails and prisons, none have been attributed to the heat. A 35-year-old man’s death was first said to be caused by heat but then the autopsy revealed that drugs were likely responsible.

Last week the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) released a statement that no heat-related deaths have occurred in the state’s prisons since 2012. From 2000 to 2012, 17 inmates died from the heat. In 2011 alone, when a record-breaking heat wave hit Texas, 10 inmates died of heat-related causes.

In this ongoing series, learn about more speculations concerning heat-related deaths in jails.

One of the purposes of this website is to provide resources is to help Texas inmates who have been incarcerated in local county and municipal jails in the state. There is never an intention of implicating an individual or institution in connection with misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor