Category: County Jails|Custodial Death|Jail Medical Care Lawyer|Medical Care

Fifty-nine-year-old Arturo Gomez was placed in the La Joya Municipal Jail in La Joya, Texas, on April 17, 2022. Before another four hours had passed, Mr. Gomez was dead. His cause of death is pending results of a toxicology report, and Texas Rangers are conducting an independent investigation.

Methods of Committing Suicide in Jail

Continuing with information from a report by the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), hanging was the method of suicide in 430 of the 464 suicides, which is 92.7% of the time. Other methods of suicide include an overdose, cutting, jumping, and ingesting a foreign object.

Bedding was the instrument used in 66.4% or 308 of the 464 custodial suicides that occurred in U.S. jails during a one-year period between 2005 and 2006. Clothing was used 15.5% of the time and shoelaces 4.1%. Instruments used less than 2% of the time include a belt, towels, knife or razor, drugs, or none. The instrument used was unknown among about 7.3% of the inmates who committed suicide.

The anchoring devices used for hanging were:

• A bed or bunk 29.6% of the time or 127 inmate suicides.
• Bars or the cell door 27% of the time or 116 inmate suicides.

Learn the other anchoring devices used for hanging in this ongoing series, and see more information in Part 1.

Speculating that any individuals or organizations have participated in misdeeds is never an intention on this website. Helping Texas county jail inmates by providing helpful resources is the purpose of each post on this site.

–Guest Contributor

Cynthia Garcia died on April 1, 2022, in the custody of Kleberg County Jail in Kingsville, Texas. The custodial death report (CDR) indicates that, prior to her death, she had been transferred from the jail to a hospital at 1311 General East Cavazos Blvd. in Kingsville, TX 78363. The CDR also indicates that Ms. Garcia died of natural causes, and the medical cause is pending toxicology results.

Violent Cell

The Texas Administrative Code lays out the minimum jail standards set by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). Under Rule §253.1-Definitions, (33) defines a Special Purpose Cell as a violent cell, detoxification cell, separation cell, holding cell, medical cell, and negative pressure cell. Under (35) of this rule, a Violent Cell is defined as a single-occupancy padded cell for the temporary holding of inmates harmful to themselves or others. Violent Cells are often used to temporarily house inmates on suicide watch. Padded jail cells are useful for de-escalation purposes.

Among the reasons a padded cell system might be used in a Texas county jail is that an inmate:

• May be a suicide risk or self-harm risk
• Has violent anger issues
• Goes through significant detox from drug or alcohol abuse
• Engages in other behaviors that pose a potential threat to the jail staff or the inmate

When it is necessary to reduce or remove potential risks to individuals, padded cell systems are great options.

Learn more in this continuing series.

There is no intention on this website to suggest that any person or institution has participated in misdeeds. The posts on this site aim to benefit inmates now or formerly incarcerated in county jails in Texas.

–Guest Contributor

On April 5, 2022, 53-year-old, Mark Wayne Stovall died in the custody of Upshur County Jail in Gilmer, Texas. He had been incarcerated only since March 31, five days earlier. He died of natural causes, which, specifically, was a pulmonary artery aneurysm.

Suicide Prevention in Texas County Jails

Many experts in jail suicide believe statistics clearly show that most inmate suicides are preventable. There are numerous statistics which have revealed easily recognizable threats to the lives of inmates. One of the easiest to pinpoint for the purpose of prevention measures is that the second most inmate suicides (24%) occur within the first 24 hours of incarceration. Most (27%) occur in days 2 through 14. This is true whether or not the inmates who took their own lives in jail had been identified as potentially suicidal during intake screening.

Another statistic that could be a focus of suicide prevention measures is that 93% of Texas county jail suicide victims hang themselves. On the one hand, it may seem easy to ensure that prisoners have nothing to hang themselves with nor to hang from. On the other hand, this seemingly simple solution can seem more like a cruel punishment. For instance, clothes are made of paper to ensure there is nothing with which to make a ligature, and the form of bedding the inmate is given can’t be used for that purpose, either.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this continuing series.

Making implications that a person or entity has participated in wrongdoing is never intended on this website. Each of the posts is intended as a resource of help to prisoners in county jails in the state of Texas.

–Guest Contributor

Edgar Villatoro-Alvarez was in the custody of Fort Worth’s Tarrant County Jail in Texas when he died at age 40 on February 25, 2022. His cause of death is still unknown and pending the results of the autopsy. The custodial death report (CDR) indicates that an external investigation of the death will be conducted by the Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD) Major Case Unit (MCU).

High-Risk Situations and Times for Inmates

Research has revealed patterns of suicidal behavior among inmates. The following are among the high-risk times and situations in which inmate suicides often occur:

• When the inmate is booked into the jail
• On days 2 through 14 of incarceration
• After any of the following situations: institutional proceedings, parole is denied, within 48 hours after a court appearance, new charges, and additional sentences
• After being admitted into single-cell or segregation housing
• Soon after receiving bad news about self or family such as serious illness or the death of a loved one
• After suffering rejection or humiliation such as being sexually assaulted
• Due for release after a long incarceration period

Other situations that can become high-risk times for inmates include:

• Decreased supervision by jail staff
• Anniversary dates
• Pending release from custody, particularly when the inmate lacks a viable discharge plan due to lack of housing, family, employment, and other stabilizing resources.

Learn more in Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this continuing series.

Making insinuations that individuals or organizations have participated in misdeeds is never an intent on this website. Helping county Texas jail inmates is the purpose of posts on this site.

–Guest Contributor