Media spotlight week 6/23/25
June 30, 2025
Three Harris County Jail custody deaths in 48 hours Houston Chronicle, Houston Public Media, and Fox News cover three custody deaths in the Harris County Jail that occurred over the…
Topics: 2025news, Custody Death, Medical
Harris County
Three Harris County Jail custody deaths in 48 hours
Houston Chronicle, Houston Public Media, and Fox News cover three custody deaths in the Harris County Jail that occurred over the time frame of just 48 hours. Harris County has already seen 10 custody deaths in 2025, equivalent to the total number of in-custody deaths for the entire year of 2024.
The bricks and walls are not killing people. It’s the punitive and inhumane culture that has turned pretrial detention into a death sentence for so many.
Below is the statement we provided to Houston Public Media:
“After being in continuous non-compliance for over three years, Harris county jail continues to be an engine of death, disease and violence as evidenced by the latest series of custody deaths and lawsuits for use of excessive force.
We have yet to see a meaningful plan from the county to remedy the issues within the jail except to call for a bigger jail or a mental health jail. The bricks and walls are not killing people. It’s the punitive and inhumane culture that has turned pretrial detention into a death sentence for so many.
Additionally, we are extremely disappointed that HCSO has no policy in place to inform either the community or the commissioners court in a timely manner when there are serious incidents such as custody deaths.
Lastly, we are calling upon the OAG to file an injunction against Harris county jail as requested by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards in their last two quarterly meetings. We cannot and will not tolerate this any longer.”