Michael Martinez
Michael Martinez, 25, died on November 1, 2015, while held at the Jack Harwell Detention Center in McLennan County, Texas, a facility run by LaSalle Correctional. Official records list his death as a suicide, with a report saying he died by hanging in his cell from a bed sheet. His parents, Salvador and Gloria Martinez, filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the operator and three officers, alleging that he was found hanging and that no staff had face-to-face contact with him for about three and a half hours beforehand. The defendants deny negligence and say his own actions caused his death.
Cause of death, as reported: Died by suicide (neglect alleged). His family's lawsuit says staff had no face-to-face contact with him for about three and a half hours before he was found hanging, and the defendants deny negligence and say his own actions caused his death.
Reported by: news report; Jeff Edwards, attorney for the family, in a federal wrongful death lawsuit (family or their lawyers); LaSalle Correctional and the three officers named in the lawsuit (the agency that held him).
Lawsuit: His parents, Salvador and Gloria Martinez, filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit against the operator of the Jack Harwell Detention Center and three officers, and the defendants deny negligence.