James Willard Weston Jr.
Agency patch
Corrections Officer V

James Willard Weston Jr.

Illness
End of Watch August 26, 2020
Age 55
Tour of Duty 13 yrs
The Vigil Panel 172 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Corrections Officer V James Weston died after contracting COVID-19 during an outbreak among staff and inmates at the Johnston Unit in Winnsboro, Texas.

Officer Johnston had served with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for 13 years.

COVID-19 and Law Enforcement

Corrections Officer V James Willard Weston Jr. died on August 26, 2020 of COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty. He was 55.

He is one of 884 officers honored here, and one of 55 at Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division.

Beginning in early 2020, law enforcement officers across the country contracted COVID-19 in the course of their duties. While much of the nation sheltered at home, they kept answering calls, making arrests, transporting prisoners, and working face to face with the public. There was no distance to be had from the job.

Corrections officers were hit hardest. Confined facilities and large populations meant constant, close, unavoidable exposure.

Survivors

He is survived by his two sons.

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-4F1E9E8B
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
August 2, 2026
Last updated
August 2, 2026

Honored here by 1 tribute.

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Tributes

The country locked its doors. You kept working.
Corrections Officer V Weston gave the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the Huntsville community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Corrections Officer V Weston.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Type Corrections
Location Huntsville, TX
Platform Identity tdcjcidcorr.walker.tx.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch August 26, 2020
Tour of Duty 13 yrs
Age 55
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Illness
Cause Detail COVID19

Corrections Officer V James Willard Weston Jr. is one of 1 officers lost to illness connected to their service across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,784 officers honored here.

In TX, 204 of 2,422 officers were lost to illness connected to their service — 8.4% of this state's fallen. That is 8.4 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.

At Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division, 55 of 124 officers on record were lost to illness connected to their service — 44.4% of this agency's fallen.

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Correctional Institutions Division
55
of 124 officers
44.4% Illness
TX — Statewide
204
of 2,422 officers
8.4% Illness
Nationwide
1
of 97,784 officers
0% Illness

National Cause Distribution

How Illness compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. James Willard Weston Jr.'s cause is highlighted.

Felonious
1 (0%)
Accident
1 (0%)
Illness
1 (0%)
Cardiac
1 (0%)
Undetermined
1 (0%)
Suicide
1 (0%)

How James Willard Weston Jr. Compares

Age at Death
55
This officer
Avg for Illness: 47.8 years
Years of Service
13
This officer
Avg for Illness: 18.9 years

When Illness Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Illness deaths across the full memorial record. James Willard Weston Jr. is highlighted in Aug.

Jan
294
Feb
198
Mar
186
Apr
226
May
201
Jun
182
Jul
217
Aug
281
Sep
353
Oct
376
Nov
239
Dec
285

Incident Location