Staying in a city or county jail is never supposed to become a death sentence for an inmate, yet fatal in-custody drug overdoses are not unusual occurrences. A man whose 25-year-old son was in jail custody died as a result of an overdose of prescription anti-depressants believes that his son’s death was a result of gross negligence. The coroner named the official cause of death as “acute fluoxetine toxicity” and ruled the fatality of the young man an accident. The drugs in the young man’s system were his prescription drugs, per the coroner’s report.

An incident report provides a few details into the custodial death:

• A cellmate witnessed the inmate snorting what appeared to be a powdery substance. The inmate then appeared to drink an excessive amount of water before vomiting. Throughout the day, he was seen drinking an unusual amount of water, according to a deputy at the jail. The inmate died the next day.

The inmate was taking generic medications for depression–the generic forms of Zyprexa and Prozac. This information was allegedly found in unredacted jail records. Details about how the inmate got enough of any substance to experience an overdose is not clear, however.

The inmate who died was allegedly housed in the jail’s mental health unit.

The jail where this custodial death has had a high rate of custodial deaths, with a total of 47 inmates dying there between 2014 and 2020.

Inmates have constitutional rights, and city and county jails in Texas have a duty to uphold those rights. If it is determined that a custodial death occurred as a result of a practice, custom, or policy deemed to be unconstitutional, the institution can be sued.

As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post. No allegations or assertions of misconduct or inappropriate behavior are intended.

–Guest Contributor