After Sandra Bland, Texas jails continue to see deaths

By Thandisizwe Chimurenga
Monday Sep 12, 2016 · 3:58 PM EDT

Sandra Bland was found dead in a Texas jail cell July 13, 2015. Unjustly assaulted and arrested by a Texas state trooper, her death was ruled a suicide by the local coroner. Her friends and family have maintained that Bland would not have killed herself and suspect foul play. While these two opposing sentiments will be not reconciled anytime soon, another issue should be considered: Since Bland’s death, people continue to die in county jails at an alarming rate. The Harris County Jail near Houston, about one hour from where Sandra Bland died, is Texas’ largest county jail facility. Twelve people have died at the jail in the year since Sandra Bland.

As of April, the inmate population of Harris County Jail was more than 9,000, and the facility has suffered from overcrowding. The jail is also understaffed. Overtime pay for staff has skyrocketed in the last two years, according to the Houston Chronicle. The jailers must sometimes work double shifts multiple days a week, which has made employee retention challenging. About 40 percent of staff have reportedly worked at the jail for two years or less.

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Adequate staffing is crucial to preventing jail deaths, because correctional officers are on the front lines watching inmates for signs of injury, illness or suicidal behavior and referring them for medical help.

“Whether you’re talking about jail deaths that result from violence or jail deaths that result from inmate suicide, these are things that can become a problem because of understaffing,” said Wallis Nader, a staff attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project.

Similar to United Kingdom-based news site The Guardian’s project on the numbers of individuals killed by police in the United States, the Huffington Post has assembled data on the number of individuals who have died in U.S. jails. More than 800 people have died in U.S. jails in the year since Sandra Bland’s death:

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http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/9/12/1569385/-Texas-jails-continue-to-see-deaths-after-Sandra-Bland