Harris County Jail reports two in-custody deaths on same day

Harris County jail officials are investigating after two men suffered medical emergencies and died in custody on Wednesday.

Kerry Parks, 63, who was serving a life sentence for a 2013 injury-to-a-child conviction, was found unresponsive at the Harris County Jail early Wednesday morning and pronounced dead at St. Joseph Hospital. Parks had been temporarily transferred from state prison for a court hearing and was awaiting return to state prison when the incident occurred.

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Tony Davis, 66, died later that evening in the jail medical clinic after suffering an apparent medical emergency, less than an hour after returning from a hospital visit. Davis had been in custody for 13 days following a parole violation arrest.

Both deaths have been reported to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. The Texas Rangers are conducting the required independent investigations, and the Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Division will review whether all procedures were followed. Autopsies will be performed by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences to determine the causes of death.