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Suits Filed Over Dehydration Deaths at Two Texas Jails
Loaded on Jan. 15, 2025
by Matthew Clarke
published in Prison Legal News
January, 2025, page 15
Filed under:
Failure to Protect (General),
Water,
Settlements,
Medical Neglect/Malpractice,
Failure to Treat (Mental Illness).
Location:
Texas.
by Matt Clarke
On July 9, 2024, the grandmother of a mentally ill detainee who died of dehydration at Texas’ Denton County Jail (DCJ) filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, accusing jail staff of deliberate indifference in allowing Heath Aaron Vandeventer to suffer severe dehydration and malnutrition before …
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More from this issue:
- Fines and Fees Destroy the Impoverished and Perpetuate Mass Incarceration, by Douglas Ankney
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- After Florida Appellate Court Holds Crimes of ‘Attempt’ Eligible for Incentive Gain Time, Supreme Court Refuses Review, by Kevin Bliss
- Eighth Circuit: Evidentiary Admissibility Is a “Red Herring” At Class Certification of St. Louis Jail Conditions Challenge, by Douglas Ankney
- Hep-C Treatment Needed in Los Angeles County Jails to Save Lives and Money
- Senate Votes to Increase Penalties for BOP Contraband Cellphone Smuggling
- With Eleventh Circuit Okay, Alabama Executes Third Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia
- Washington Prisoners Prep for Firefighting Career After Release
- Pennsylvania Prisoner Released from Solitary After 15 Years
- Suits Filed Over Dehydration Deaths at Two Texas Jails, by Matthew Clarke
- Biden Commutes Sentences of Most Federal Prisoners on Death Row
- Blood in the Water Author Wins Censorship Challenges Against Illinois, New York Prison Systems, by Douglas Ankney
- Video of Autistic Ohio Teen’s Jail Death Undercuts Sheriff’s Report Calling It Suicide
- Six Set Themselves on Fire at Virginia Prison in 2024
- Two-Week Lockdown at BOP Women’s Prison in Minnesota After Nine Overdoses, Two Deaths
- Fifth Circuit Leaves Louisiana Prisoner Waiting for Reinstated Parole, by Douglas Ankney
- Nebraska Pioneers Diversion Program to Help Arrested Veterans Avoid Jail
- Maryland Cancels Debt Owed by 6,715 Parolees
- California Prisoner Awarded Over $1.26 Million in Suit Challenging Withheld Legal Mail Which Resulted in Habeas Loss, by David Reutter
- Ninth Circuit Greenlights Muslim Hawaii Prisoner’s Challenge to Early-Served Ramadan Meals, by Douglas Ankney
- Texas Executioners Playing Fast and Furious to Obtain Lethal Drugs
- Details Vague on Spending from San Diego Jail Detainee Welfare Fund
- Lawsuit Over Death or Severe Injury of 29 Houston Jail Detainees Survives Motion to Dismiss, by Matthew Clarke
- Mentally Incompetent Maine Defendants Sent to South Carolina Wellpath Lockup Called “Essentially Prison”
- Muslim New York Prisoner’s Free Exercise of Religion Claim Reinstated, by David Reutter
- Wisconsin DOC Under Fire for Hiring Censured Doctors
- $400,000 Jury Verdict for Medical Neglect Resulting in Amputation of Alabama Prisoner’s Toes
- Minnesota Prisoners Getting Scanned Mail, Kept Waiting 18 Months for Tablets
- Wellpath Declares Bankruptcy
- Fourth Circuit Revives West Virginia Prisoner’s RLUIPA Claim Over Religious Diet with Soy He Can’t Digest
- No Charges in Alabama Prisoner’s Torture, Rape and Murder
- Guard Pleads Guilty to Using Excessive Force at Indiana Jail Sued Nine Times in Two Years
- Pigeonly Flies Into Telecom Turbulence, Declares Bankruptcy
- BOP Prisoners in Alabama Strike to Protest Release Date Confusion
- Tenth Circuit Affirms PTS Driver’s Conviction for Torturous Detainee Transport
- Pennsylvania Jail Guards Accused of Ripping Surgical Pin from Detainee’s Shoulder
- Illinois Sheriff Resigns After Deputy Fatally Shoots 911 Caller
- Arizona DCRR Ordered to Fill Prison Medical Staff Vacancies—Again, by Matthew Clarke
- Four-Month Wait for 40 Percent of South Carolina Jail Detainees Needing Psychiatric Evaluation
- Oregon Supreme Court: Governor Can’t Revoke Commutation After Sentence Expires
- Eighth Circuit Affirms Denial of Qualified Immunity to Missouri Guards in Transgender Prisoner’s Suit Alleging Retaliation and Unreasonable Search, by Douglas Ankney
- 150 People Sue Over Past Abuse at New York City Juvenile Facilities
- $1.5 Million Settlement Reached for Oregon Prisoner’s Untreated Traumatic Brain Injury
- Former Tacoma Reentry Center Severs Washington DOC Contract
- Fourth Circuit: Baltimore County Prisoners May Qualify as Employees under FLSA, by David Reutter
- Childhood Trauma Incidence Higher Among Those Incarcerated, by Anthony Accurso
- Nearly $12 Million Paid to Mentally Disabled Indiana Prisoner Wrongly Convicted of Murder, by Douglas Ankney
- “Locked In, Priced Out”: Markups and Kickbacks in Prison Commissaries
- With HRDC Amicus Brief, Survivor of Dead Washington Prisoner Wins Public Records Case, by Sam Rutherford
- Former Kentucky Sheriff Indicted for Murdering Judge in Chambers
- Michigan Supreme Court Greenlights Adding Restitution At Resentencing of Former Juveniles Sentenced to LWOP
- Second Rapper Stabbed in Atlanta Jail During Record-Long Trial
- South Dakota DOC Locks Down Third Prison in 2024
- New York City Held in Contempt in Long-Running Rikers Island Class-Action
- Lawsuits by Michigan Prisoner Yield $57,750 in Settlements, Plus Policy Changes
- Top Doc Sacked from Maryland Psych Hospital with “Climate of Chaos”
- Colorado Legislature’s New Jail Oversight Committee Not Weighted in Detainees’ Favor
- 1994 Crime Bill Turns 30: A Legacy of Controversy
- First Circuit Rejects Request by Securus and Pay Tel to Stay FCC Prison Phone Rate Caps
- Georgia Prisoner Accused of Running $3.5 Million “Protection” Racket
- Securus/JPay Video Calling Service Potentially Threatened by New Rate Caps
- GOP Michigan County Commissioner Re-elected— and Headed to Federal Prison
- Push to Digitize Rikers Island Mail Based on Faulty Drug Tests
- “Whoppergate” Embroils Georgia Sheriff
- News in Brief
- Turn Key Health Walks Away From Oklahoma County Jail
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026
- D.C. Federal Court Holds Blocking Prison Reform Advocate’s Access to Federal Prisoners May Violate First Amendment and Due Process, Feb. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Estate Cannot Sue Jailers Who Followed Medical Personnel Advice That Led to Detainee’s Death, Feb. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Failure to Properly Classify Violent Prisoners at Kentucky Jail, Feb. 1, 2026
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Alabama County May Be Liable for Policy of Providing Inadequate Jail Medical Care, Feb. 1, 2026
- Tenth Circuit Reverses Summary Dismissal of Claim Over Prisoner’s Suicide in Oklahoma Jail, Feb. 1, 2026
- Deportation of Kenyan Priest Working as Texas Prison Guard Highlights TDCJ’s Dependence on Immigrant Staff, Feb. 1, 2026
- Ninth Circuit Reinstates Wheelchair-Bound Washington State Prisoner’s Suit Over Failure to Accommodate Disabilities During Transport, Feb. 1, 2026
- Sixth Circuit Clarifies What Constitutes PLRA “Strike” and Reinstates Michigan Prisoner’s Lawsuit, Nov. 1, 2025
- Eighth Circuit Orders Preliminary Injunction Requiring Minnesota to Reinstate Program Teaching Biblical “Authentic Manhood”, Nov. 1, 2025
More from these topics:
- Barbaric and Deadly Conditions Continue to Plague Los Angeles County Jails, Feb. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Totality of Conditions, Overcrowding, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- Three Prisoners Killed in Fight at Georgia Prison, Feb. 1, 2026. Prison/Jail Murders, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Eighth Amendment, Staffing.
- The St. Louis Jails Are Running Out of Guards, Feb. 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Hygiene Supplies, Suicides.
- Killings Inside Mississippi’s Prisons Continue Unabated But Report Prompts DOC to Reopen Investigations, Feb. 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Prison/Jail Murders, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, DOJ CRIPA Actions.
- Alaska Deaths in Custody Tie Record High, Feb. 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference, Compassionate Release.
- $450,000 Paid for Michigan Jail Detainee’s Fentanyl Death, Incarcerated Husband Prevails in Claim for Part of Payout, Feb. 1, 2026. Drug Overdose, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Eleventh Circuit Holds Estate Cannot Sue Jailers Who Followed Medical Personnel Advice That Led to Detainee’s Death, Feb. 1, 2026. Drug/Alcohol Withdrawal, Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Deliberate Indifference.
- Sixth Circuit Reinstates Lawsuit Over Failure to Properly Classify Violent Prisoners at Kentucky Jail, Feb. 1, 2026. Failure to Protect (General), Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Monell Liability, Prison Classification.
- Competency Crisis in Missouri’s Jails, Feb. 1, 2026. Jail Specific, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Pretrial Detention and Detainees, Competency, Competency Hearing.
- Amid ‘Catastrophic’ Shortage, Psychologists Flee Federal Prisons in Droves, Feb. 1, 2026. Staffing, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Inadequate Health Care Facilities.

