Victoria Margaret Simon Dies in Troubled Harris County Jail

The Harris County Sheriff’s Department, in Houston, Texas, reported on yet another custodial death. The Harris County Sheriff’s Department is having serious issues in the Harris County jail, and the County was even sued by jailers as a result of conditions.

This most recent report was regarding the death of Victoria Margaret Simon. Ms. Simon was 42 years old at the time of her death. We provide information we obtained from the report, and we make no allegation of any wrongdoing against anyone.

The report indicates that Ms. Simon was originally taken into custody at the jail on September 29, 2022 at 10:23 a.m. It also indicates that she passed away on October 2, 2022 at 8:40 a.m. The summary portion of the report reads in its entirety:

“On September 29, 2022, the decedent was arrested by the Houston Police Department for an out of county PCS warrant and booked into the Harris County Jail. Per jail protocol, the decedent was placed in single cell quarantine. On October 2, 2022, nurses and a jail officer arrived at the decedent’s cell to conduct a Tuberculosis test. The decedent was determined to be unresponsive, CPR began, and additional medical staff arrived with a stretcher. The decedent was transported to the clinic with ongoing CPR, and the Houston Fire Department responded. At 8:40 a.m., a jail doctor pronounced death.”

The report further indicates that the most serious offense with which Ms. Simon was charged was simply possession of a controlled substance. Our Texas jail neglect abuse and neglect law firm finds that far too many people seem to die in our jails after being arrested for merely an intoxication-and/or drug possession offense.

Oddly, the report provides the response “unknown” in response to questions about whether Ms. Simon appeared intoxicated, or exhibited any mental health problems. The report provides no information regarding how often, if at all, Ms. Simon was periodically observed. It also provides no information regarding her medical history and/or any prior treatment in the jail.

The United States Constitution guarantees the right of pre-trial detainees to receive reasonable medical care. When jailers or medical personnel in a jail are deliberately indifferent to such needs, or mental health needs, and a person dies as a result, then certain surviving family members may be able to bring claims. Moreover, when a County’s policies, practices, and/or customs lead to an inmate’s death, there may also be civil rights claims available to be filed in federal court.

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.