Prisoner Commits Suicide in Conroe, Texas Jail
The Montgomery Sheriff’s Department, in Conroe, Texas, filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas regarding the death of Alfredo Madaleno Vela. We make no allegation of wrongdoing against anyone regarding Mr. Vela’s death. Instead, we are providing information in this post obtained from that report.
Mr. Vela was arrested for a DWI, and he was scheduled to plead guilty, on June 27, 2019, to a an agreed prison sentence. The report indicates that Mr. Vela had made suicidal statements. On June 26, 2019, Mr. Vela was found hanging in a mop closet attached to a bathroom in the Direct Supervision Wing. He had last been seen at his bunk, presumably by a jailer, at 2:41 p.m. He had also been seen by another inmate at around 3:15 p.m. He was discovered at 9:03 p.m. by an inmate, who entered the mop closet.
The report indicates nothing whether jailers were making periodic observations required by regulations issued by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. Moreover, if Mr. Vela was on suicide watch, an appropriate practice would be to continuously monitor him. We are uncertain as to whether Mr. Vela was on suicide watch, or whether any observations other than those referenced in the report actually occurred.
Texas jail prisoners have the right, pursuant to the United States Constitution, to receive appropriate medical care and mental health care. That care includes the right to be protected from suicidal tendencies. If a jailer is deliberately indifferent, or if a county has a policy which is a moving force behind an event, and death occurs, the jailer and/or county can be liable to family members of a person who is deceased for violating the Constitution. Such cases are typically filed in a Texas federal court.
Dean Malone
Dean Malone