Antonio Villa Mendoza died in Ector County Jail in Odessa, Texas, on February 1, 2020, at the age of 65. Mr. Mendoza was still in the booking process and alone in a cell when he reportedly strangled himself to death using the uniform the jail issued to him.

According to research on custodial suicide in the U.S., the first 24 to 48 hours in which a person has entered a jail for booking is the timeframe with the highest risk for suicide. Being alone in a cell is the setting in which most suicides occur. Mental illness is the most significant risk factor for committing suicide. Another significant risk factor is when the inmate is a young white male.

Suicide prevention strategies for county Texas jails are determined by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). The following is information regarding the suicide prevention plan each county jail must implement.

CHAPTER 273-HEALTH SERVICES; RULE §273.5 Mental Disabilities/Suicide Prevention Plan

• Jail staff must have training on procedures for recognizing, supervising, documenting, and handling prisoners who are potentially suicidal and/or mentally ill. The staff members responsible for intake screening must also have supplemental training since it is during intake screening that determinations about inmates are made.
• Inmates at risk for suicide must have adequate supervision and appropriate housing.
• Staff members must follow procedures for intervening before a suicide has occurred and during a suicide attempt in progress.

Learn more in this continuing series.

This website’s posts are intended as resources to assist current and former inmates in county jails in Texas. On this site, there is no intention to insinuate that wrongs have occurred on the part of persons or institutions.

–Guest Contributor