August 10th 2023.
The Harris County Jail is facing a lawsuit due to its treatment of incarcerated people. Attorneys Benjamin Crump and Paul Grinke recently filed the case, which is one of the highest-profile civil actions related to the jail. The lawsuit claims that staff have neglected to treat medical issues leading to death, assaulted incarcerated people, and failed to prevent attacks.
Jacilet Griffin-Lee, whose son Evan Lee died at the jail in March 2022 after a slap-boxing game turned fatal, expressed her thoughts to the Texas Tribune, “We’ve all experienced the same loss, and we’re all seeking the same thing. We’re all seeking justice.”
The allegations against the jail and the Sheriff’s Office have been mounting over the past 10 years. At least 51 lawsuits have been filed by formerly incarcerated people and their families in either county or federal courts. Sheriff Ed Gonzalez has since released a message to the Harris County community, vowing to do whatever he can to make the jail safer. He remarked, “We hold every life in our jail as precious. I want every family that has lost a loved one in the jail to know they have my sincere sympathy and my pledge to continue striving to make our jail even safer.”
On Aug. 7, family members held a joint press conference alongside Crump, carrying pictures, posters, and demands for justice. Octavia Wagner, the sister of Jacoby Pillow, who the lawsuit alleges was beaten to death by jail guards during pre-trial detention, spoke at the press conference. The FBI is currently investigating Pillow’s death and Sheriff Gonzalez has expressed his support for a full review of the circumstances. Wagner, in her address, pleaded, “I wish people would stop being negative and judging these families and these young men and women that passed away, and realize that this is someone’s mother, someone’s father, someone’s brother, someone’s son. They’re human, and it’s easy to judge unless you’ve been in those shoes.”
The lack of support for incarcerated people with mental health issues has also been brought to light. Five of the eleven people who died in the Harris County Jail in 2023 have been diagnosed with some form of mental illness. Ramon Thomas, one of those 11 people, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder before his death in custody at 30. Since then, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards has found the Harris County Sheriff’s Office to be non-compliant with multiple State of Texas safety codes. Regulators have criticized the office for its failure to comply with state standards regarding the medical care of incarcerated people, monitoring of incarcerated people, processing of detainees, and staffing levels.
At the press conference, Crump also made a reference to the death of George Floyd. He said, “If we learned anything from the trial involving the killing of George Floyd, we learned that when citizens are in your custody, they are in your care. And so, how many more citizens are going to die in the care of Harris County Jail before something is done?” This statement further highlights the urgency of this situation, and the need for justice for those affected.
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