Tammy Jo Sanders Dies in Taylor County, Texas Jail

The Taylor County Sheriff’s Department, in Abilene, Texas, filed a report regarding the custodial death of Tammy Jo Sanders. Ms. Sanders was 63 years old at the time of her death. We provide in this post information we obtained from that report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.

The report indicates that Ms. Sanders was originally incarcerated in the jail on November 7, 2022, at 11:19 a.m. It also indicates that she passed away on November 16, 2022, at 8:32 a.m. The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:

“On November 16, 2022 at approximately 0734 hours inmate Sanders was found unresponsive in her cell. Officers, along with medical staff attempted CPR and applied the AED, but inmate Sanders was not responsive to the life saving techniques. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) along with the Local Fire Department responded and continued life saving techniques and they were not successful. Inmate Sander’s body was sent to S.W.I.F.T. medical examiner’s office in Dallas. At this time the autopsy report is pending.”

The report also indicates that Ms. Sanders did not exhibit any mental health or medical problems. The report provides no information regarding whether, or how often, Ms. Sanders was observed by jail personnel. Periodic observations are required by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.

The United States Constitution requires jailers to provide reasonable medical care to inmates. If an inmate has a serious medical condition, and jailers fail to provide medical care, and a person dies as a result, then certain surviving family members may be able to file a federal jail neglect lawsuit. Our Texas jail neglect law firm is handling a number of such cases across 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.