Man Commits Suicide in Liberty County, Texas Jail

The Liberty County Sheriff’s Department, in Texas, filed a custodial death repot with Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas, regarding the death of Cristian David Sarmiento.  Mr. Sarmiento was only 36 years of age at the time of his death.  Information in this post was obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone regarding Mr. Sarmiento’s death. 

Mr. Sarmiento was originally incarcerated in the Liberty County jail at approximately 2:07 p.m. on August 4, 2019.  On September 12, 2019, Mr. Sarmiento attempted to commit suicide in the jail.  Mr. Sarmiento had apparently used a sheet tied to a vent above the interior of the entrance door to the cell in which he was incarcerated.  Mr. Sarmiento passed away as a result of the suicide attempt.

Suicide in Texas jails is a far too common occurrence.  It appears that the Liberty County jail has had significant issues attempting to bring itself into compliance with Texas law.  It has been found to be non-compliant, by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, on more than one occasion.

The United States Constitution guarantees the right of pretrial detainees, who have been convicted of nothing, to be protected from themselves and others.  If Texas jailers violate the Constitution, and someone dies as a result,  those jailers can be liable to certain surviving family members pursuant to federal law.

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.