Israel Resendiz Molina Dies After Incarceration in Travis County, Texas Jail

The Travis County Sheriff’s department, in Austin, Texas, filed a report regarding the custodial death of Israel Resendiz Molina. Mr. Molina was 47 years old at the time of his death. We provide information we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.

The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:

“On January 14, 2023, at approximately 0740 hours, decedent was experiencing hallucinations in his single person jail cell, prompting a medical evaluation request. A short time later, Medical Staff arrived to complete the evaluation and located the decedent on the cell floor, unresponsive. Staff administered life-saving measures until relieved by EMS staff who transported the decedent to the Hospital where continued life-saving measures were unsuccessful.”

The report provides no information at all regarding what led to Mr. Molina experiencing hallucinations, what if any medical care he had been receiving, and/or what if any mental health evaluations had occurred. The report indicates that Mr. Molina was arrested for driving while intoxicated, and entered the Travis County jail on January 10, 2023 at 8:37 p.m. The report also indicates that Mr. Molina exhibited mental health problems.

Texas jails continue to house mentally ill people, when such a solution is far from adequate. The United States Constitution requires Texas jails to provide both reasonable medical care and mental health care to detainees. If jails fail to do so, and jailers and/or medical personnel are deliberately indifferent to medical and/or mental health needs, and it results in a person dying in a jail, then certain surviving family members may be able to file a federal civil rights lawsuit. Our Texas jail neglect law firm is litigating a number of such cases across Texas.

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.