On Sunday we broke the news that 21 people had died in custody in the Tarrant County Jail last year, more than twice as many as in Dallas, Collin and Denton prisons combined. Details of her death are difficult to find, but at least one case indicates problems with prison medical care.
In investigating the deaths at Tarrant Prison, we requested records from six government agencies and received dozens of files, but official documents only tell part of the story. Death records are not public, but an autopsy was performed in 10 of the 21 cases, which creates a public record. From these 10 cases we know the following:
- Two were suicides. One of them, 50-year-old Dean Ray Stewart, hanged himself with a rope sewn from his blanket. The prison was charged with failing to look for him at least every 30 minutes as the law requires.
- Officials are holding autopsy records for 28-year-old Javonte Myers, pointing to an ongoing criminal investigation.
- One man, 63-year-old Timothy Rasor, died of blunt head trauma. The autopsy report lists the death as an accident, but an investigator’s report says the wound may have been caused by an attack.
- Five died of natural causes. Autopsies cite heart and lung problems.
That makes all but 40-year-old Abdullahi Sheikh Mohamed, a man from Arlington whose death type is listed as “undetermined” in an autopsy report from the Tarrant County coroner.
We spoke to Mohamed’s brother, Rashid Mohamed, from Arlington. According to him, as well as several Tarrant County documents, Abdullahi had a record of mental health problems, including thoughts of suicide, and was frequently in hospitals.
Mohamed was arrested on June 16, 2020. Documents show that he refused food and water for more than a week. He was transferred to a medical facility on June 25 when he was no longer accessible. He was pronounced dead that night at John Peter Smith Hospital. Cause of death: dehydration.
Brandon Wood, executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, told us that health care in custody is typically outsourced and prison guards must be careful not to cross borders.
“Since we are not medical experts, we refer to the doctor,” he said. “It’s about forced medication. It’s a very complicated area. … people have the right to refuse medication. But when are you out of your mind? “
It doesn’t take a doctor to know that someone cannot go without food and water for nine days. Rashid Mohamed said the prison guards should have known that his brother was not sane enough to make decisions about his care. You shouldn’t have been on hunger strike that long.
The same could be said of the prison death streak. At 30 since March last year, it’s safe to say that this trend has lasted too long. Sheriff Bill Waybourn should do whatever he can to stop it.
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https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2021/12/07/how-did-21-people-die-in-tarrant-county-jail-heres-what-we-know/
