Some Tarrant County lawmakers aimed to strengthen jail death investigations this legislative session. Although their bills didn鈥檛 pass, their efforts still made change, advocates said.
Rep. Nicole Collier, a Fort Worth Democrat, and Rep. David Lowe, a North Richland Hills Republican, filed their reform bills in response to outcry over the dozens of deaths in Tarrant County Jail custody under Republican Sheriff Bill Waybourn,
The level of attention surprised Krish Gundu, co-founder of the statewide advocacy group Texas Jail Project.
"I didn't expect all the bills that we managed to get filed on the custody death issue,鈥� she said. 鈥淩eally, Tarrant County was driving that conversation."
Collier鈥檚 bill would have required the state鈥檚 jail regulating agency, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, to assign outside law enforcement agencies to investigate deaths in jail custody 鈥� something advocates say the commission was already supposed to be doing under current law.
For years, the jail commission allowed sheriff鈥檚 offices to pick their own outside investigating agencies. Collier filed her bill after revealed the Tarrant County Sheriff鈥檚 Office had assigned more than two dozen deaths to the Fort Worth Police Department, which never actually did any investigating.
Fort Worth police just reviewed the sheriff鈥檚 own investigation reports, they
The jail commission has started making death investigation assignments, even though Collier鈥檚 bill didn鈥檛 pass.
Gundu commended the jail commission for making the change. Sometimes a bill can succeed even if it doesn鈥檛 become law, she said.
"A large majority of the asks that were being made in Rep. Collier's bill are being done by the jail commission,鈥� Gundu said. 鈥淭hey started doing it in the middle of the session. I think that in itself was a huge win.鈥�
There鈥檚 now a link that leads to a list of death investigations that shows which agency is leading it, the date the commission made the assignment and the status of the investigation.
Lowe, a former jailer in Collin County, filed a bill that would have created a state advisory committee to review jail deaths and make recommendations on how to prevent them.
Gundu called Lowe鈥檚 measure her 鈥渇antasy bill鈥� and one she hopes comes back in a future session. Bills often take more than one session to become law, she said.
A statewide advisory group would help Texas jails learn from each other, Nan Terry said. She鈥檚 a local activist who helps lead
鈥淎 saying I've heard before is, you can run one red light, but you don't need to keep running red lights,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f another county has the same issue and they've solved it without a death in custody, maybe we can, too."
Lowe鈥檚 office did not respond to interview requests for this story. One of Collier鈥檚 staff members told 四虎影院 she forwarded questions to the representative, but she did not answer before this story's deadline.
Gundu and Terry also celebrated the failure of one jail bill from another North Texas legislator.
State Sen. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury, . He filed a bill that would have changed a key provision of the Sandra Bland Act, the law that requires outside investigations into jail deaths.
Birdwell鈥檚 bill would have made deaths from natural causes exempt from the outside investigation requirement. Birdwell鈥檚 office did not respond to requests for an interview.
鈥淚f there's nothing to hide, then why not do the outside investigation?" Terry said.
The Tarrant County District Attorney鈥檚 Office has also weighed in on the Sandra Bland Act. In March, Tarrant DA Phil Sorrells asked the state Attorney General鈥檚 Office to clarify which deaths should get an outside investigation.
Investigating the deaths of people who die in the hospital, due to medical issues, is a waste, Sorrells argued in his letter to the AG鈥檚 Office.
"Scarce law enforcement resources are being diverted needlessly to the investigation of non-controversial custodial deaths that occur outside of county jails,鈥� he wrote.
The Justice Network of Tarrant County, the Texas A&M Law School Civil Rights Clinic, Disability Rights Texas and other organizations opposed Sorrells in their own briefs to the AG, which 四虎影院 obtained through a public records request.
鈥淢any deaths attributed to natural causes may have been prevented with adequate and timely medical care, among other things,鈥� attorney Jennifer Kingaard wrote in her brief. 鈥淎n investigation can reveal whether deaths were the result of jail neglect or something else.鈥�
Only courts can determine how laws should be interpreted, but attorney general opinions can be influential, according to . As of Thursday, the AG has not yet come out with an opinion based on Sorrells鈥� request.
Gundu said she鈥檚 confident in the future of the Sandra Bland Act.
"I feel very hopeful that we are going to be able to not only protect it 鈥� protect all the attacks on it 鈥� but also expand on it, and make it even more robust," she said.
Terry and her fellow activists show up at almost every Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting to talk about problems in the local jail. This legislative session showed her other people are paying attention, too, she said.
鈥淚 think a lot of people have the perspective that these are human rights issues, and we need to take care of those who can't take care of themselves," Terry said.
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