Evan Parker
Evan Parker, a 34-year-old Black man, died on January 27, 2019, while held at the Waller County Jail in Texas. Click2Houston reported that he died by hanging in his cell. The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office listed the death as a suicide, and the Texas Rangers are investigating. The sheriff said jail protocols were followed, while a later state inspection found the jail had violated its 30-minute check requirement, which the sheriff attributed to a software error with no bearing on Parker's death.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (neglect alleged). The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a hanging suicide, and a state inspection cited the Waller County Jail for violating the 30-minute check requirement, which the sheriff blamed on a software error and said had no bearing on the death.
Reported by: Harris County Medical Examiner's Office (medical examiner or coroner); Waller County Sheriff's Office (the agency that held him); Texas Rangers (outside investigators); news reporting on the state inspection list.
News reports (5)
- Waller County Jail inmate dies after hanging himself
- Custodial death report 19-98-CJ
- Ambitious Texas law fails to make dent in jailhouse suicides
- Inmate Suicides on the Rise in Texas Despite Reforms
- ‘She Looks Dead Already’: Black Woman’s Mug Shot Goes Viral, Drawing Comparisons to Sandra Bland, Who Many Speculated Was Dead When Photographed