The third recorded death of the year has occurred at the Harris County Jail, when another inmate passed away while being held.
On January 2, Kristopher McGregor, 39, was arrested for stealing and taken to the downtown Houston jail. According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, McGregor was taken to Ben Taub Hospital on January 29, about a month later, due to a medical emergency. On January 30, at 6:41 p.m., he was pronounced deceased.
McGregor joins two other people who have reportedly passed away while in detention this year: Erik Carlson, 29, and Denaly Matute, 70. Carlson passed away after being sent to a private prison in Louisiana as part of a routine procedure meant to alleviate the county jail’s personnel shortage.
According to information made public by the sheriff’s office, ten persons apparently passed away while in detention last year. That was less than the 19 reported deaths in 2023. According to county records and data from the Texas Justice Initiative, there were a record amount of in-custody deaths in 2022, with 27 people reportedly dying—the most in over 20 years.
RELATED LINKS The guards refused to take any action: Families in Houston are furious about the death of a loved one who was incarcerated.
The Harris County Jail had already seen a series of failed state safety inspections due to persistent understaffing, among other problems. This persisted for over two years until the plant eventually passed an inspection in August with technical support.
However, when a prisoner was booked in October, jail authorities neglected to inspect his wheelchair, allowing him to bring a loaded weapon into the facility. This caused the jail to be dinged once more. Before the police took the pistol away, it had been in the jail for over a month.
After a recent prisoner’s death was linked to a breakdown in observing rounds, the facility failed yet another state safety inspection last month.
