Kevin Alexander Sanchez-Trejo was an inmate in Harris County Jail in Houston, Texas, when he was found unresponsive on February 12, 2022. Despite the application of life-saving measures, the 21-year-old was declared dead on that day. The cause of his death is unknown and pending autopsy results.

Not only does the tragic death of Kevin Alexander Sanchez-Trejo mark the fourth day in a row an inmate in a Texas county jail died, but his death is also the fifth known county jail death in the state this month alone. A distinction with Mr. Sanchez-Trejo’s death is that the other four custodial deaths have been identified as suicides. In addition, his death is the second to occur in Harris County Jail this month. This Houston jail has recently been spotlighted for being non-compliant.

• On February 4, 2022, 22-year-old Zachary Daniels committed suicide in Fort Bend County Jail in Richmond, Texas.
• On February 9, 2022, 32-year-old Jared Jon Bell committed suicide in Travis County Jail in Austin, Texas.
• Simon Peter Douglas, age 41, took his own life in Harris County Jail in Houston, Texas, on February 10, 2022.
• Thirty-two-year-old Gilbert Shaw Medina died and was found with a ligature around his neck in his single-occupancy cell in Collin County Jail in McKinney, Texas, on February 11, 2022.

A rising number of jail deaths is not unique to Texas. An article published in summer of 2021 provides information based on custodial death statistics. The following are among the statements made, to be continued in this ongoing series:

• The jail environment has certain features that enhance suicidal behavior.
• A brief stay in jail can result in extreme harm.
• The leading cause of death in jails, at almost 30%, is suicide.
• A person who is in jail is three times more likely to die from suicide as compared with individuals in the general U.S. population.

Making an implication that a person or organization has committed wrongs is never intended on this website. Benefiting inmates in county jails in Texas is the purpose of this website’s posts.

–Guest Contributor