Norma Barrera Avila Dies After Being in Reeves County, Texas Jail

The Reeves County Sheriff’s Department, in Pecos, Texas, filed a custodial death report regarding the death of Norma Barrera Avila. Ms. Avila was only 54 years old at the time of her death. We provide in this post information obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.

Our Texas civil rights law firm frequently reviews custodial death reports regarding those dying in Texas county and city jails. The report regarding Ms. Avila is perhaps one of the shortest we have ever reviewed.

The summary portion of the report regarding Ms. Avila’s death literally reads, “Summary can not [sic] be completed until autopsy results are returned.” Therefore, the Reeves County Sheriff’s Department decided not to provide any details at all as to what led to Ms. Avila’s death, whether she had been checked by jailers, or any other material information regarding any illness and/or other occurrences which led to her death.

The Reeves County Sheriff’s Department also failed to provide any information in response to the following fields in the report: Death Code; Manner of Death Description; Custody Code; Code of Charges; Intoxicated; and Medical Treatment Description. The Reeves County Sheriff’s Department did indicate that Ms. Avila did not make suicidal statements, did not receive medical treatment, did not exhibit any medical problems, and did not exhibit any mental health problems.

We know very little regarding Ms. Avila’s death, with the sparse information provided in the report. However, it is our experience that the Texas Rangers investigate deaths such as Ms. Avila’s.

Texas county jail inmates have the right, pursuant to the United States Constitution, to receive reasonable medical care and mental health care. If someone does not receive such care, and dies as a result, then certain surviving family members may have claims as a result of the death.

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.