Tony Martinez was 28 years old when he used a blanket to strangle himself to death on June 19, 2021. Mr. Martinez had been in the custody of Lubbock County Jail from January 9, 2021, until the day he committed suicide.

Personal and/or Situational Risk Factors for a Potential Suicide Attempt Continued

Below are more situational and/or personal factors about an inmate that make him or her at risk for a potential suicide attempt:

• Recent loss of stabilizing resources, of which the following are examples:
  • Loss of a spouse or another loved one
  • For young inmates, loss of a peer
  • Expulsion from school
  • Loss of job
  • Particularly among young inmates, rejection by peers
  • A financial disaster, such as a business failure
• Rape or the threat of rape
• Current poor health, terminal illness, or mental illness
• The shame of incarceration over the offense he or she is charged with
• Recent withdrawals or excessive use of drugs and/or alcohol
• Having no apparent control over the future, including uncertainty and fear over the legal process
• An authoritarian environment or a jailer exhibiting condemning, rejecting, and harsh attitudes
• The inmate is a person with high status in the community

Learn more in Part 1 and this ongoing series.

On this website, there is no intention to suggest that a certain individual or entity has participated in wrongdoing. The posts on this site are meant to serve as helpful resources for prisoners currently or previously incarcerated in a county jail in Texas.

–Guest Contributor