Two inmates in custody of the Harris County Jail have died in recent days after the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said they had medical emergencies.
Now, some local activists are questioning the recent improvements to jail conditions touted by our local officials.
Records show four people have died in jail custody so far this year.
SEE ALSO: Harris County Jail inmate dies, marking 2nd jail death of 2026, according to HCSO
In 2025, those records show there were twenty deaths, which is double the number from 2024, where ten inmates died.
Harris County officials said 30-year-old Tanner Goldade died at St. Joseph’s Hospital on Sunday after some kind of medical emergency.
Officials told ABC13 that Goldade had been in in the Harris County jail for 301 days, arrested on a charge of assaulting a police officer.
Officials say 33-year-old Tevin McClendon died on Friday while he was being housed in a Louisiana jail.
McClendon was in the custody of HCSO, but had been taken out of state due to overcrowding here.
Officials said McClendon, who was in jail on a charge of engaging in organized criminal activity, smoked some kind of substance before having a medical emergency.
For the first time in more than a year, the Harris County jail is currently in compliance with state jail standards.
The jail has also become less crowded in the past year. There are currently about 700 fewer inmates than there were last year at this time.
Earlier this month, the sheriff’s office even opened a hospital facility for non emergency medical cases.
These deaths will be investigated by the sheriff’s office and other agencies, which is standard procedure in jail deaths.
SEE ALSO: Harris County Jail reports first inmate death of 2026, according to HCSO
