After Houston, Texas, Harris County Jail inmate Justin Michael Henderson died on February 4th, 2021, the Harris County Sheriff’s Department filed a custodial death report. The report states that Mr. Henderson died of natural causes. The medical cause of death is shown as “the toxic effects of heroin.” 

Suicide is the leading cause of death in jails across the U.S. Numerous studies have been done, many for the purpose of seeking to do a better job of suicide prevention. One study found that any combination of the following factors, which are both individual and environmental, could account for the consistently higher rates of suicide in jail settings– to be continued in the third part of this series:

• Jails and prisons are gathering places for people groups that traditionally have the highest vulnerability to carrying out suicidal thoughts, including:
  • Young males
  • The socially disenfranchised
  • Socially isolated individuals
  • Those with substance use problems
  • The mentally ill
  • Individuals who have previously carried out suicidal behaviors

• Inmates’ abilities to cope may be exceeded, considering the psychological impact of arrest and incarceration, an expected long prison sentence, the day-to-day stresses associated with life behind bars, and symptoms of withdrawal experienced by drug addicts.

Learn more in Part 1 and this continuing series.

Each of the posts on this site purpose to benefit inmates now or previously detained in county jails in the state of Texas. There is never an intention on this website to suggest that improprieties have occurred on the part of persons or organizations.

 –Guest Contributor