30-year-old Micah Aaron Garner died in the Gregg County Jail just six months after 33-year-old Amy Lynn Cowling died in the jail. Both had told jail officials they were addicted to methadone and had other medical issues as well. Both died in the throes of untreated withdrawal. Here is a statement by his mother sent to us July 31st.

Do killer jails exist in the great state of Texas today? If so, where?
If you talk to someone who’s been in the Gregg County Jail, they might say that jail is one because they will not help you if you are in withdrawal from either legally prescribed medication or a drug you’re addicted to.

An otherwise excellent story from the Texas Tribune startled us with the headline: “Another Methadone Addict Dead in Longivew”.

Must we highlight the young man’s addiction, reducing his life to the tragic fact of an addiction—something that thousands if not millions of us deal with?

A preliminary report reveals shocking treatment of Amy; Robyn Claridy’s excellent story begins with these 2 chilling paragraphs: A Gregg County inmate found unresponsive in a jail separation cell was discovered kneeling in a praying position beside her bed before being removed and declared dead a short time later. Amy Lynn Cowling, 33, of Gilmer
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