The late 2018 custodial death at the county jail this series is about was followed by five more custodial deaths there in 2019. Of those five deaths, one was determined to have occurred due to natural causes, one was a custodial suicide, one was ruled an accident, and the remaining two are still under investigation.

The county sheriff attended the town hall meeting where concerns about custodial deaths were aired. He spoke only in regard to the plan in progress to switch to a new health care provider for the jail and an effort to ensure that inmates each receive rapid medical care. A competitive bidding process is underway.

A 2020 Custodial Death

The autopsy of the 39-year-old inmate who died this year at the county jail after being incarcerated for about one month showed that the cause of death was coronary artery disease. There had been plaque buildup in the arteries, a condition that has a harmful effect on the blood supply circulating to the heart. The medical examiner’s office listed acute myocardial ischemia as a contributing factor in her death. Acute myocardial ischemia occurs when there is a reduction of blood flow to the heart.

Records at the jail show that on the day the inmate died in her cell, she had visited the jail’s infirmary because of shortness of breath, chest pain, and vomiting.

All Texas county and city jails have constitutional duties they are required to provide to inmates. A jail can be sued if any unconstitutional practice, policy, or custom is found to have caused a custodial suicide or any other type of custodial death.

See Part 1 and Part 2 of this three-part series to learn more about custodial deaths that occurred at the same county jail.

This is an informational post, as is every post on this website. No suggestions or implications of misconduct or wrongdoing are in any way intended.

–Guest Contributor