On June 1, 2023, 39-year-old Adrian Chevez was booked into the Tarrant County Jail Corrections Center. He was discovered hanging from his neck by a towel in his cell on June 26, and a suicide note was also found. Mr. Chevez was quickly transported to John Peter Smith Hospital. He was pronounced deceased on June 27, 2023. The address of the jail facility where he was housed is 100 N Lamar, Fort Worth, Texas, 76102.

How Can Corrections Professionals Prevent Suicide?

In U.S. jails, suicide is the leading cause of death. The suicide rate in jails with 100 beds and fewer is approximately 10 times that of the nation’s population as a whole. Hanging is the method for a large majority of custodial suicides, and hanging can result in death within 5 or 6 minutes. Brain death can occur in 4 minutes.

Inmates have died after hanging themselves from shower knobs, cell doors, bunk beds, clothing hooks, sinks, windows, smoke detectors, ventilation grates, and television cable cords. Intake personnel are trained to identify inmates who are a high risk for suicide, but there is no way to predict with complete accuracy the risk of suicide for individuals in a jail setting. It is critical for correctional staff to have training so that they can recognize and respond to warning signs that an individual may be a suicide risk.

Learn more in this ongoing series.

One of the purposes of this website is to provide helpful information that can benefit municipal and county jail inmates in Texas. Insinuating that misdeeds have occurred on the part of institutions or persons is not intended on this site.

–Guest Contributor