The September 4, 2022, custodial death of Victor Rene Gonzales was reported to the Attorney General of Texas on September 21, 2022. The cause of death is unknown and pending the results of an autopsy. There is, however, an indication in the custodial death report (CDR) that the 37-year-old died of natural causes.

Texas Jails Faced Scrutiny in Connection with Suicides After Sandra Bland’s Death

Following Sandra Bland’s death in Waller County Jail in Hempstead, Texas, the Texas House County Affairs Committee decided to study suicide trends in Texas jails. The week the article about Texas suicides was published, 38-year-old Hung Do committed suicide in the municipal jail at the Houston Police Department. Further research found that Mr. Do’s death by hanging was the city’s first custodial suicide in four years. Twenty-four of the total 140 suicides in Texas jails that occurred between 2009 and 2015 occurred in the greater Houston area, including Harris County and surrounding counties such as Fort Bend County and Montgomery County.

The study found that, in the special jail inspection report following Ms. Bland’s death, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) had not cited the Waller County Jail for non-compliance with minimum jail standards. TCJS stated that although several “red flags” had been identified, the jailers were not at fault because intake evaluation forms had been filled out completely.

Learn more in Part 1 and this continuing series.

Inmates detained in municipal and county Texas jails can find information of potential assistance to them on this site. Making accusations of wrongdoing against institutions or individuals is never intended on this website.

–Guest Contributor