Joseph Ray Perales Dies in Lubbock County, Texas Jail

Joseph Ray Perales died, apparently from suicide, after being in the Lubbock County jail.  This is the second purported suicide in that jail in just a few months.  We obtained this information from a custodial death report, filed by the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, with the Attorney General of Texas.  Information in this post was obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing related to Mr. Perales’ death. 

Mr. Perales was originally incarcerated in the Lubbock County jail on June 9, 2020.  The report indicates that Mr. Perales exhibited medical problems and made suicidal statements.  Even though the report admits that Mr. Perales made suicidal statements, in response to the question as to whether he had any mental health problems, the report says, “Unknown.” 

On July 13, 2020, at approximately 4:45 p.m., a jailer conducted a security check and found Mr. Perales.  Mr. Perales was unresponsive with a ligature around his neck.  EMS responded and transported Mr. Perales to a local hospital.  He was pronounced deceased at the hospital.

Suicides in Texas county jails, and city police holding facilities, occur far too often.  Our firm has experience handling such cases, as well as other cases in which Texas county jail inmates are denied medical treatment.  It is difficult at best to determine what to do about such continual problems in Texas jails.

Texas jailers have obligations, under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, to provide reasonable medical care and mental health care to inmates.  Those obligations include the obligation to protect inmates from themselves and others.  Thus, when a Texas jail inmate commits suicide, and jailers were aware of suicidal tendencies and/or other serious mental health issues, those jailers can be liable to certain surviving family members.  Further, jailers, and their employers at times, can also be liable to the deceased person’s heirs for the deceased person’s conscious pain and suffering.  These claims are usually filed in federal court, in one or four districts in 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.