Leo Lawrence Dies After Being in Wichita Falls, Texas Jail

The Wichita County Sheriff’s Office, in Wichita Falls, Texas, filed a report regarding the death of 72-year-old Leo Lawrence. We provide here information we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone related to Mr. Lawrence’s death. As our Texas civil rights law firm does regarding custodial deaths in Texas, we provide information which may not be provided by authorities after an inmate’s death, so that surviving family members and the public can be aware of what is occurring in Texas jails.

The summary portion of the report regarding Mr. Lawrence’s death reads in its entirety:

“On 9/15/2021 between 1230 and 1240 PM the officer observed the inmate heavily breathing. The officer asked medical staff to check on the inmate. At 1244, a mental health nurse checked on the inmate, but the inmate did not respond to verbal stimuli. Medical staff and officers entered the cell at 1247 where the inmate was found unresponsive. AMR was notified and life saving measures started. Inmate was transported to United Regional Health Care System by AMR where he was pronounced deceased at 13:40 by the hospital medical provider. An autopsy was ordered and is pending. Texas Rangers notified and investigation is pending.”

Therefore, the report does not indicate anything about Mr. Lawrence’s prior medical condition, whether he had been receiving treatment, and how often he had been observed. It appears that Mr. Lawrence may have been in a segregated mental health portion of the jail, since a mental health nurse is referenced as being the person responding to his medical emergency. The report also indicates that Mr. Lawrence made suicidal statements and exhibited mental health problems.

The United States Constitution guarantees the right of pre-trial detainees in Texas county jails, regardless of their charges, to be treated humanely by receiving reasonable medical care and mental health care. The Constitution also requires that inmates be protected from their own suicidal tendencies, as well as from fellow inmates. If these constitutional protections are not provided, and a Texas jail detainee dies as a result, then certain surviving family members may be able to file a civil lawsuit in 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.