At the age of 54, Celestino Perez died in the custody of Tom Green County Jail in San Angelo, Texas, on January 2, 2021. He had been booked into the jail on October 17th, 2020. According to the custodial death report prepared by the Tom Green Sheriff’s Department, the cause of death was a pre-existing medical condition. 

The following guidelines established by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) also apply to the required tuberculosis screening plan that county jails must adopt:

If an inmate is booked into the same county jail facility more than one time within a year, he or she is not required to be retested for TB at each rebooking unless the inmate shows symptoms of or is known to have been exposed to tuberculosis. 

The tuberculosis screening plan for each county jail must be developed and implemented in accordance with 25 TAC §§97.171 – 97.180, which relates to Communicable Diseases, and the Texas Health and Safety Code, §§89.001 – 89.102 and must be approved by the appropriate branch of the Department of State Health Services prior to use. Upon request, the plan must be made available to TCJS.

An inmate’s medical records or documentation of treatment or screenings received during confinement must accompany an inmate who is transferred from one jail or prison to another and be available for medical review upon arrival of the inmate.

See Part 1 and this continuing series.

Providing helpful resources for Texas inmates now and previously incarcerated in county jails is the purpose of this website. There is never an intention to infer that persons or organizations have been participants in improprieties.

 –Guest Contributor