Inmate Julie Alvarado Commits Suicide in Bexar County Jail

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, in San Antonio, Texas, filed a custodial death report regarding the death of Julie Alvarado.  Ms. Alvarado was only 32 years old at the time of her death.  We provide information in this post obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone related to Ms. Alvarado’s death.

The report is relatively short, and it indicates that Ms. Alvarado was originally incarcerated in the Bexar County jail in San Antonio on July 16, 2020 at 3:58 a.m.  The report also indicates that Ms. Alvarado passed away on July 19, 2020 at 10:38 a.m. 

The summary portion of the report is very short and reads:

“On 7/19/20 at approximately 0947 hours, Inmate Alvarado, Julie SID #725843 was found with a sheet tied around her neck and unresponsive by the Unit Officer while conducting observation checks. A code 2 was activated and CPR was administered. A Code 1 Blue was subsequently initiated. San Antonio Fire Department arrived and attempted all life-saving measures on inmate Alvarado. The inmate was pronounced deceased at 1038 hours by SAFD Medical Director.”

The summary says nothing about observations of Ms. Alvarado, whether observations were continuous or periodic.  A person can commit suicide in a matter of just a very few minutes if allowed to have in his or her cell bedding, shoe laces, or other clothing items allowing the person to fashion a noose. 

The report does not indicate who will be investigating Ms. Alvarado’s death.  Out Texas civil rights law firm has significant experience handling jail death cases, and we find that larger Texas counties, such as Bexar County, do not typically refer such deaths to the Texas Rangers.  Instead, as a result of the Sandra Bland Act, it is likely that the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office will refer investigation of Ms. Alvarado’s death to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office.

Suicides in Texas jails are far too common, and there is no excuse for not providing continual observation of inmates who are known to be suicidal and/or have serious mental health issues.  Without regarding to what happened to Ms. Alvarado, if an inmate in a Texas jail dies as a result of deliberate indifference or objective unreasonableness by jailers, then those jailers, and potentially their employer, whether a city or county, may be liable to certain surviving family members.  This liability arises because of guarantees under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.  There is a federal statute that allows the filing of such a lawsuit, and such lawsuits are usually filed in a federal court.

Written By: Dean Malone

Dean Malone

Dean Malone is the founder of Law Offices of Dean Malone, P.C., a jail neglect civil rights law firm. Mr. Malone earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Texas at Dallas, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA, and from Baylor University School of Law with a general civil litigation concentration. Mr. Malone served in several staff positions for the Baylor Law Review, including executive editor. Mr. Malone is an experienced trial lawyer, trying a number of cases to jury verdict and also handling arbitrations through final hearing. He heads the jail neglect section of his law firm, in which lawyers litigate cases involving serious injury and death resulting from jail neglect and abuse. Lawyers frequently refer cases to Mr. Malone due to his focus on this very complicated civil rights practice area.