Heather Renee Rodriguez died at the age of 45 in Kerrville, Texas, on March 16th, 2021. She had been incarcerated in Kerr County Jail since March 11th, 2021. Ms. Rodriguez died of chronic seizure disorder, according to the medical examiner.

An inspector with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) found that a county jail in Texas was non-compliant in at least two areas that can potentially affect the health and welfare of inmates. The following are details from a jail inspection report dated May 8th, 2020.

Health Services Non-Compliance

RULE §273.2 (12) states that, as soon as possible, any prescription medication an inmate is taking when they are brought into custody must be reviewed by a qualified medical professional. 

• The TCJS inspector wrote that medical procedures were reviewed, and it was discovered that no one other than a pharmacist was reviewing medications for the jail. The position of pharmacist does not meet the standard as far as who is reviewing the prescriptions.

RULE §273.5 (b) states that a screening instrument to address inmates with mental disabilities and potentially suicidal inmates must be immediately completed as inmates are booked into county jail facilities.

• The TCJS inspector reviewed medical files and found that members of the jail staff are not filling out the screening form for suicide and medical/mental/developmental impairments in its entirety.

Learn more in Part 1 and this ongoing series. 

There is never an intent to imply on this website that a person or entity has been a participant in wrongdoing. The posts added to this site are intended as resources for the benefit of Texas inmates detained in county jails.

–Guest Contributor