TJP on Liberty County Jail Conditions and Closure

Read the highlights of Texas Jail Project news coverage below and click on the links to read the full articles.

4/8/25 ABC13: Records show Liberty County Jail failed fire inspection before blaze sent 5 officers to the hospital

Liberty County Jail, which continues to have five outstanding non-compliant reports, experienced a fire due to a lighting issue.

Co-founder and executive director of non-profit watchdog the Texas Jail Project Krishnaveni Gundu told ABC13 the incident was “expected.”

A recent non-compliance report, documents a number of issues inside the jail, including damaged or inoperable lighting fixtures, clutter, and overcrowding. The report also states the jail failed its fire inspection.

Full Article at ABC13

4/14/25 ABC13: State orders Liberty County Jail to close after fire, citing longstanding safety violations

On Friday, April 11, after an emergency meeting, Texas Commission on Jail Standards sent a Second Amended Remedial Order to Liberty County, “directing the immediate suspension of operations and full closure” of the jail.

That means those arrested in the county cannot be transported to the county jail, but must instead, be taken to other facilities. It also means all current detainees must be transferred to other facilities.

She added, “It’s sort of like a vicious cycle because when you send people out that far away the cases can’t move as quickly as they should be moving and that creates a backlog.”

Full Article at ABC13

101.9 The Bull: Liberty County Jail in Texas Has Been Ordered to Shutdown

This country radio station out of Amarillo writes about the Liberty County Jail shutdown, as well as other currently non-compliant jail throughout Texas. They cite our Non-compliant Jail Reports page.

Full Article at 101.9