The solution, she said, is to reduce the jail population and invest in systems of care instead of punishment.Īddiction, mental illness, homelessness and disability have been systematically criminalized, Gundu said. Limited resources and overcrowded jails make it “impossible to treat each other like human beings,” Gundu said. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has recorded more than 1,150 in-custody deaths since 2009, nearly half of which were deemed natural. Complaints about medical treatment in jails across Texas pour into her inbox. The death of an inmate for medical reasons is not surprising or uncommon, said Krishnaveni Gundu, co-founder and executive director of the Texas Jail Project. Inmates may be taken to an outside doctor or specialist if such treatment is warranted. Nurse practitioners, a physician and certified medication aides are available each day and on-call after hours. The jail has registered and licensed vocational nurses available around the clock, according to the sheriff’s office.
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The sheriff’s office did not address an emailed question about whether Ramirez received cancer treatment. “Proper treatment was rendered and protocols followed,” the agency said. Per protocol, the Texas Rangers are also investigating the in-custody death.Ī spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said the agency cannot discuss specific medications or treatment provided to Ramirez, citing federal laws covering patient privacy. The attorney has asked a court to appoint Trigo as the executor. The attorney has requested medical records from the jail, but the sheriff’s office will release the information only to an appointed representative of the estate. The firm is in the fact-finding phase of an investigation into his death. The facts surrounding the inmate’s condition prior to his death appear “extremely troubling,” said Bill Ogden, a Houston attorney representing the family. Yi-Chin Lee, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Treatment was ‘proper’ However, his family has hired a lawyer and is questioning whether he received the right medical care. Preliminary autopsy results show he died from natural causes, including cirrhosis of the liver. Ramirez had been held for 16 months on an aggravated robbery charge when he died. “They chose not to.”Įsmeralda Trigo shows a collage of family photos of her brother, Albert Ramirez, who died in June in the custody of the Fort Bend County sheriff’s office, Tuesday, Aug. “I just feel like the jail could have done more,” she said. Trigo is raising questions about whether the jail provided her brother with adequate medical and mental health care, as well as about its response to her efforts to check on her brother. Ramirez was also battling cancer of the liver, according to his sister. The final autopsy report is not yet available, according to the county medical examiner, but preliminary information suggests the cause was cirrhosis of the liver. Ramirez, 57, died of natural causes on June 13 at OakBend hospital in the custody of the Fort Bend County sheriff’s office.
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All you got to do is stay right here and keep walking with me and you’ll be alright,” his sister, who has been sober for three years, would tell him.
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“When you get out, I know that you can do it - I’m doing it. Maybe, despite a cancer diagnosis, the siblings would have more time together. Maybe, after his release, he would find a wife, go back to church, start fixing up old cars again. When Ramirez was arrested in February 2020 on an aggravated robbery charge, his sister hoped time behind bars might bring positive change.