×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Lawsuit Exposes Jail Limbo for Mentally Incompetent Defendants in Texas
by Matt Clarke
According to a lawsuit filed by a non-profit group, Texas is facing a shortage of mental hospital beds that leaves hundreds of mentally-incompetent criminal defendants stranded in jails awaiting treatment.
Texas has a total of 738 mental hospital beds designated for mentally ill jail prisoners, including 343 …
According to a lawsuit filed by a non-profit group, Texas is facing a shortage of mental hospital beds that leaves hundreds of mentally-incompetent criminal defendants stranded in jails awaiting treatment.
Texas has a total of 738 mental hospital beds designated for mentally ill jail prisoners, including 343 …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- Scandal Rocks Texas Youth Commission; Youths Molested by School Supervisors, by Gary Hunter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Oregon Parole Officer’s Molestation Victim’s Suicide Claims Settled for $210,000
- Overdetention: When Completing a Prison Sentence Just Isn’t Enough, by David Reutter
- Arizona Prison Guard Awarded $750,000 for False Sexual Misconduct Allegations
- Colorado Farms Out Prisoners to Replace Immigrant Farm Workers
- Death Sentence: The Feds Throw the Book at King County'sJail as Prisoner Fatalities Skyrocket, by Rick Anderson
- Washington State: No Restoration of Felon Voting Rights Until Fines and Restitution are Paid
- Los Angeles Settles County Jail Murder Suit For $1 Million, by John Dannenberg
- Louisiana Work-Release Prisoners Used by Sheriff in Chop Shop, by Gary Hunter
- Non-Convicted Michigan Sex Offenders Required to Register
- Independent Monitor Issues First Report on Delaware Health Care
- "Let Freedom Ring" -- Cellphones Abound In California Prisons
- Privately Run Seal Beach, California Jail Closed Following Checkered Past, by John Dannenberg
- New York Prisoner Awarded $4,250 for Knee Injury While Shackled
- $90,000 Awarded to New York Prisoner for Delay of Surgery
- Nevada Jail Strip Searches Before Release on Own Recognizance Unconstitutional
- Alabama Judge Resigns Amid Prisoner Spanking Allegations and Judicial Improprieties
- Lawsuit Exposes Jail Limbo for Mentally Incompetent Defendants in Texas, by Matthew Clarke
- BOP Removes Religious Books; Capitulates After Public Outrage, Lawsuit
- BOP Must Provide Prisoner's FOIA Request in Electronic Format
- Missouri Ordered to Pay Prisoner's $250,000 Judgment Plus Fees and Costs for Sexual Assaults by Work Supervisor, by John Dannenberg
- Second Circuit Rejects New York’s Interlocutory Appeal of Prisoner's $7.65 Million Failure-to-Protect Jury Verdict, by John Dannenberg
- Transsexuals Treated Poorly in New York Prisons, by David Reutter
- WA Prisoners Entitled to Minimal Due Process Before Risk Level Demotion
- Broward County, FL Sheriff Resigns, Pleads Guilty to Federal Corruption Charges, by David Reutter
- Study Finds Federal Defenders Outperform CJA Attorneys
- New York Pays State Prisoner $1,100 for Disregarding Work Restrictions
- Ninth Circuit Holds Washington DOC Immune From Suit for Denial of Community Custody Early Release, by John Dannenberg
- Spectrum Health Systems Pays Massachusetts $7.5 Million for Fraud in Concert with Civigenics
- Florida's Parole Commission Slows Restoration of Felons' Civil Rights, by David Reutter
- Alabama Prisons Sell Land to Finance Prison Building, Repair
- Federal Suit Over Wisconsin Suicide Attempt Settles for Millions, by Michael Rigby
- $100,000 Settlement in Missouri Jail Prisoner’s Methamphetamine Overdose Death
- PLN Sues CDCR Over Failure to Produce Public Records
- News in Brief:
- New Jersey "Anthrax" Legal Mail Policy Unconstitutional; Count Condemns Opening Outside Prisoner's Presence
More from Matthew Clarke:
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, April 1, 2026
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, April 1, 2026
- Unsafe Drinking Water at Multiple Texas Prisons Highlights Lack of Transparency, April 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Holds Federal Prisoner Does Not Earn First Step Act Time Credits While in Transit Between Prisons, March 1, 2026
- Missouri Judge Heavily Sanctions DOC for “Deliberate Disregard for the Authority of This Court” in Suit Over Prisoner’s Suicide, March 1, 2026
- Texas State Jails Fail: Institutions Conceived as Safe Spots for Rehabilitation After Minor Drug Convictions Now Flooded With Drugs and Major Felons, March 1, 2026
- Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026. Summary Judgment, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Survey of Arkansas Jails Reveals Strained, Costly Health Care System, April 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- Hawai’i Settles Prison Mental Healthcare Class-Action With $100,000 in Attorney’s Fees and Expert Inspection That Produces Damning Report, April 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- $1 Million Paid by Cuyahoga County for Detainee’s Preventable Suicide in Cleveland Jail, April 1, 2026. Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
- $950,000 Settlement Reached for Pennsylvania Jail Detainee Repeatedly Pepper-Sprayed During Mental Health Episodes, April 1, 2026. Clothing, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Chemical Spraying of Mentally Ill Inmates, Deliberate Indifference.
- At This Prison, Staffing Fluctuations Land Hardest on Lifers, April 1, 2026. Staffing, Lockdowns, Life without Parole (LWOP), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Staff Training.
- California County Hires New Healthcare Company After Jail Deaths Under Wellpath, April 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- More Than 40k 311 Calls From Rikers Go Into a Black Hole Every Year, April 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Totality of Conditions, Telephone Access, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Eighth Circuit Rules Iowa Prisoner’s Adverse Summary Judgment Is Not a “Strike”, March 1, 2026. Filing Fees (PLRA), Frivolous Litigation (PLRA), Summary Judgment, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Access To Courts.
- Missouri Judge Heavily Sanctions DOC for “Deliberate Disregard for the Authority of This Court” in Suit Over Prisoner’s Suicide, March 1, 2026. Discovery, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Confinement in Segregated Housing.