Fernando Serna Candelas died at age 21 on June 30, 2021, in the custody of El Paso County Jail in El Paso, Texas. A Custodial Death Report shows that Mr. Candelas was booked into the jail on March 9, 2021. The manner of death, per the report, was fentanyl toxicity.

A large percentage of inmates in Texas jails are drug-addicted in these current times. In the operational requirements for county jails, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) makes provisions for the needs of inmates in need of detoxification. Each jail must include detox cells, where inmates receive heightened supervision, including medical care.

According to a report published in July 2021, the number of overdose deaths in prisons and jails has dramatically increased since 2001. The Bureau of Justice Statistics released data showing that state prisons saw an increase in drug or alcohol-related deaths of more than 600%. In county jails, the increase in overdose deaths was more than 200% between 2001 and 2018.

Although the research data spans 17 years, the biggest increases in overdose deaths in prisons have been recent. The year 2015 began a starkly vertical rise in overdose deaths, and the most dramatic increase occurred in 2018. The federal data available at the time the analysis was done did not include the years 2019 or 2020.

Learn more in this continuing series.

This website never intends to infer misdeeds on the part of individuals or institutions. Each post is meant as a potentially helpful resource for Texas inmates housed in county jails.

–Guest Contributor