Family members demand accountability after woman dies in Bexar County Jail

CaSandra Pearson died in her cell in Bexar County jail despite suffering from a known medical condition that required constant medical care and monitoring, family maintain. Credit: Courtesy

Advocates and family members are demanding answers after a woman with a known medical condition died in a Bexar County Jail on Sunday, May 18.

CaSandra Pearson, 29, was incarcerated at Bexar County Adult Detention Center for two months after spending time in a nearby hospital for severe sickle cell disease. She was arrested March 20 over an alleged altercation with a nurse, for which she was charged with a felony and booked into jail.

Family members maintain that during her incarceration, Pearson didn’t receive proper medical care for her condition. As a result, she lost 20 pounds and weighed 113 pounds at the time of her death, according to family members.

“CaSandra suffered from a severe, well-documented case of sickle cell anemia, a chronic condition demanding meticulous medical management and immediate emergency care,” Katy Scott, organizer with police and prison reform group Act 4 SA, said in a statement. “Her health requirements were a matter of life and death.”

Officials with the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office were unavailable for immediate comment.

Pearson was born with sickle cell disease, according to a GoFundMe set up in her honor by her family.

“Anyone familiar with this illness understands the unbearable pain crises, countless hospital visits, and the strong opioid medications many patients depend on just to manage daily life and survive,” the family’s GoFundMe states. “Over the years, because of the long-term use of these powerful medications, her body developed a dependency that she struggled with uncontrollably.”

Act 4 SA and Pearson’s family members said institutional negligence led to her death.

“Based on information available to the family, we hold profound concerns that CaSandra’s death was a direct consequence of egregious medical negligence by University Health staff and a dangerously delayed emergency response by Bexar County Sheriff’s Office jailers,” Scott said. “These institutions are tasked with ensuring safety for people in custody. They failed CaSandra. This is not merely a tragedy. This is a systemic failure that cost CaSandra her life.”

Pearson leaves behind an 8-year-old daughter along with questions about why she wasn’t in the jail infirmary for her condition. She had no criminal record prior to the charge that led to her stint in the Bexar County lockup, family members stated.

Act 4 SA and Pearson’s family will hold a vigil for her at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 28, in front of the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.

Pearson’s death marks the fourth inmate death in Bexar County custody this year, according to Act 4 SA.

“The Bexar County Jail is becoming increasingly dangerous,” Scott said. “Four lives. Four failures.”

Bexar County inmates who have died so far this year also include Juan Plata Peña, Jr., Tammy Hovland and Joshua Reyes.

Not all of those deaths were due to medical conditions.

Peña died in a hospital after an apparent medical episode in January.

Hovland, 59, died in February from blunt force trauma and strangulation injuries, according to a report in by TV station TheTXLoop. The woman, who was incarcerated for low-level misdemeanor charges, was the first inmate this year to die behind the jail’s walls.

Reyes, 24, was found unresponsive in his cell in April after an apparent suicide, according to a report by KENS 5.

After another suicide in 2025, Bexar County jail was found noncompliant for the second time last year by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS). Inspectors ruled that the lockup was in violation of a state law requiring inmates to have daily access to common areas, known as “dayrooms,” among other infractions.

Another audit found that the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has repeatedly failed to investigate complaints at the jail.

A county jailer was arrested last year on charges of murder and engaging in organized criminal activity for allegedly facilitating the April beating death of an inmate over a $40 debt by leaving the door to his jail cell open for fellow inmates. That prison guard, Clemente Lopez, Jr., was released on bond following both charges.

A total of 11 inmates died in Bexar County jail in 2025 — a drop from 13 in 2024 and 18 in 2023. Though the number is going down, activists say far more work must be done to bring about true reform in a system they see as rotted from the inside.

“We demand answers. We demand justice. We demand sweeping changes at the Bexar County Jail immediately,” Scott said. “Police cannot police themselves. Jails cannot be left to monitor their own negligence. Transparency is not optional. It is a requirement for public safety.”

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