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Soaring Number of Detainee Deaths Spotlights Ongoing Crisis at Harris County Jail
Loaded on Aug. 15, 2023
by Douglas Ankney
published in Prison Legal News
August, 2023, page 1
Filed under:
Wrongful Death.
Location:
Texas.
by Douglas Ankney
In 2022, at least 28 detainees died while awaiting trial in the custody of the Harris County Jail (HCJ) – the highest number of deaths at the Texas facility in nearly two decades. Already 11 more have died in HCJ custody from January 1 to July 13, ...
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More from this issue:
- Soaring Number of Detainee Deaths Spotlights Ongoing Crisis at Harris County Jail, by Douglas Ankney
- Alabama Guards Still Harming Prisoners, Overcrowding Set to Increase as Governor Slashes “Good Time”, by Chuck Sharman, Jo Ellen Nott
- Prolonged COVID-19 Visitation Restrictions Net Georgia Jails Over $1.5 Million in Telecom Kickbacks, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Atlanta Federal Prison Gets Another Reboot, by Chuck Sharman
- Protest Damages Massachusetts Jail that Sheriff Wants to Update, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Third Circuit Revives Forced-Labor Claims of Jailed Pennsylvania Child Support Debtors, by Matthew Clarke
- Biden Commutes 31 Federal Drug Sentences, by Jordan Arizmendi
- BOP Closes Deadliest Unit, by Chuck Sharman
- Fourth Circuit Revives Virginia Prisoner’s Challenge to DOC Policy Restricting His Religious Headwear, by Douglas Ankney
- Ohio Governor Reprieves Three Condemned Prisoners, by Chuck Sharman
- Connecticut GOP Lawmakers Force Governor to Replace Pardon Board Chair, Stopping All Commutation Hearings, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Flooding Causes Evacuation of 1,075 Detainees from California Jail, by Jordan Arizmendi
- California College Offers Housing, Services to Formally Incarcerated Students, by Keith Sanders
- SCOTUS Orders Last-Minute Stay of Execution for Oklahoma Death Row Prisoner Richard Glossip
- Prison Looks Different for Two Celebrity Women, by Jordan Arizmendi
- Alabama Prisoner’s Family Sues Over Allegedly Botched Execution, by Chuck Sharman
- Vermont Sheriff Locked Out of National Crime Database, Facing Impeachment, by Chuck Sharman
- Arizona Prisoner Released from Death Row, by Chuck Sharman
- Executive Inaction: States and Federal Government Fail to Use Commutations as a Release Mechanism, by Katie Rose Quandt, Naila Awan
- Senators Spank DOJ for Failure to Implement Death-in-Custody Reporting Act
- Former Prisoner Uses “Look Back” Window to Sue for Sexual Abuse at Shuttered New York Prison, by David Reutter
- Corizon Executes “Texas Two-Step,” Spinning Off Debt Into Bankrupt New Firm to Avoid Paying Creditors and Lawsuit Winners, by Matthew Clarke
- Missouri Legalizes Marijuana and Expunges Criminal Records, by David Reutter
- Third Circuit Reinstates Claim by Federal Prisoner in Pennsylvania that Guards Prevented Daily Muslim Prayers, by Matthew Clarke
- Life Sentence for Alabama Jail Escapee After Suicide of Guard Lover Who Helped Him, by Chuck Sharman
- Cuyahoga County Sheriff Stripped of Jail Commissary Control After $500,000 in Inventory Goes Missing, by David Reutter
- Washington State Initiative to Expand Jail Ballot Access Faces Local Pushback, by David Reutter
- Prison Profiteer Who Chairs Christian Seminary Board Called Not Very ‘Christlike’, by Kevin Bliss
- Corizon Bankruptcy Stalls Suit By Alleged Rape Victims of Rikers Island Guard, by Chuck Sharman
- Menstruation Weaponized Against Women in Prison, by Kevin Bliss
- DOJ Finds Louisiana ‘Deliberately Indifferent’ to Prisoners Incarcerated Long Past Their Release Dates, by Matthew Clarke
- Seventh Circuit: Cook County Jail Grievance Procedure An “Incomprehensible Trap”, by Douglas Ankney
- Prisoner Health Update: HIV, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Ninth Circuit Affirms Expanded Relief for Disabled California Prisoners in Long-Running Class Action, by David Reutter
- Idaho Revives Firing Squads, by Kevin Bliss
- $82 Million For Detainee Death in Oklahoma Jail is “Largest Civil Rights Death Claim in U.S. History”, by Matthew Clarke
- SCOTUS Overrules Arizona Supreme Court, Allows Death Row Prisoner to Proceed With State Habeas Action, by Matthew Clarke
- $30,000 Paid by Michigan to Prisoner Wrongfully Classified as Sex Offender, by David Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Kills Suit by Louisiana Prisoners Whose Release Dates Were Incorrectly Calculated, by David M. Reutter
- New Report Pats BOP on the Back for Addressing Problems With Restrictive Housing, PREA, by Keith Sanders
- Former Illinois Guards Sentenced for Prisoner’s Fatal Beating, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- Fourth Circuit: Federal Prisoner in North Carolina Making Rehabilitation Act Claim Must Exhaust Both BOP Grievance Process and Justice Department’s EEO Complaint Process, by David Reutter
- Missouri Prisoner Illegally Condemned by Illiterate Juror Executed Anyway, by Chuck Sharman
- Ohio Supreme Court Grants State Prisoner Another $1,000 for Denied Records, by Keith Sanders
- Four Month Prison Term for BOP Compliance Monitor in Miami Who Sexually Abused Prisoner on His Case Load, by Jo Ellen Nott
- Wellpath Sanctioned for Discovery Violations After Stonewalling in Prisoner Lawsuits, by Douglas Ankney
- Second Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to N.Y. Prison Official Who Imposed Post-Release Supervision on Prisoner – But Reverses Damages Award, by David Reutter
- News in Brief
More from Douglas Ankney:
- Third Circuit Upholds Award of $265,000 to Prisoner Who Was Sexually Assaulted Twice by the Same Guard, Aug. 1, 2025
- Fifth Circuit Announces When Initial § 2255 Petition Not Decided on Merits and Appeals Court Later Recalls Mandate Dismissing Direct Appeal and Affirms Conviction, Subsequent § 2255 Petition Not ‘Second or Successive’ Under AEDPA, Aug. 1, 2025
- $340,000 for Former Massachusetts Prisoner Whose Baby Was Stillborn, July 15, 2025
- New Jersey Supreme Court Refuses Guard’s Challenge to Firing for Failing to Report Kiss with Prisoner, July 15, 2025
- New York City Loses Bid to Withhold Jail Records, July 15, 2025
- Eleventh Circuit Announces New Deliberate Indifference Framework in Dismissing Georgia Prisoner’s Claim for Skipped Anti-Seizure Meds, July 15, 2025
- Washington Jail Settles DOJ Allegations of ADA Noncompliance in Failure to Treat Opioid Use Disorder, July 15, 2025
- Ohio Supreme Court Says Sheriff Must Get and Disclose Records of Private Contractors, July 15, 2025
- Third Circuit Rejects U.S. Sentencing Commission Amended Compassionate Release Policy, July 15, 2025
- South Carolina Prisoners Granted Class-Action Status in Suit Over Low Wages in Prison Industries Jobs, July 15, 2025
More from these topics:
- Deaths, Deplorable Conditions, Staff Misconduct Plague Memphis Jail, April 1, 2025. Misconduct/Corruption, Conditions of Confinement, Wrongful Death.
- U.S. Justice Department Investigating Tennessee CoreCivic Prison After Mother of Murdered Prisoner Reaches Settlement, March 1, 2025. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Prison/Jail Murders, Staffing, Settlements, Wrongful Death.
- Federal Court Lets BOP Withhold Mortality Reviews Under FOIA, March 1, 2025. Prison/Jail Murders, Wrongful Death, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
- Sixth West Virginia Jailer Found Guilty After Detainee Death, Estate Dismisses Claims Against PrimeCare Medical Employees, March 1, 2025. Primecare Medical, Guard Misconduct, Guard Brutality/Beatings, Wrongful Death.
- Ohio Guard Killed by Prisoner in Christmas Day Attack, Feb. 15, 2025. Staffing, Wrongful Death, Assaults on Staff, Failure to Protect (Staff).
- Lawsuit Over Death or Severe Injury of 29 Houston Jail Detainees Survives Motion to Dismiss, Jan. 15, 2025. Guard Brutality/Beatings, Wrongful Death, Excessive Force (Police).
- Video of Autistic Ohio Teen’s Jail Death Undercuts Sheriff’s Report Calling It Suicide, Jan. 15, 2025. Disabled Prisoners, Videotaping, Restraints, Wrongful Death, Suicides, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders.
- With HRDC Amicus Brief, Survivor of Dead Washington Prisoner Wins Public Records Case, Jan. 15, 2025. Public Records, Wrongful Death, Briefs, HRDC Litigation.
- Trends Show Mortality Risks Increase with Higher Jail Turnover Rates, Dec. 15, 2024. Medical, Wrongful Death, Mental Health.
- After Spike in Jail Deaths, Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Under California Department of Justice Investigation, Aug. 15, 2024. Jail Misconduct, Wrongful Death.