Weekly news round-up 8/11/25
August 16, 2025
Read the highlights of Texas Jail Project news coverage below and click on the links to read the full articles. Houston Press: Twelve People Have Died at Harris County Jail…
Topics: 2025news, Custody Death, Jail Conditions, Medical, Mental Health, Staffing, TCJS, Texas Legislature
Read the highlights of Texas Jail Project news coverage below and click on the links to read the full articles.
Houston Press: Twelve People Have Died at Harris County Jail This Year. Could It Have Been Prevented?
This article includes anonymous testimony from various people who were incarcerated in Harris County Jail and required medical attention. It questions whether screening tools used by the jail are adequate to determine individuals’ need for medical or psychiatric attention. This year, the jail, which has been out of compliance since 2022, has already surpassed the number of in-custody deaths that it saw during the entirety of 2024.
The article further describes at length the circumstances under which Alexis Jovany Cardenas died as he was being released from the jail at midnight. Texas Jail Project co-founder and executive director, Krish Gundu, is quoted extensively, saying
“You all keep talking about being understaffed but you had plenty of people to kill one man,” she said. “There are two hands on his neck and back for such a prolonged time. There was no effort [by the officers] to de-escalate. It was all escalation.”
While mental illness is often missed during screenings, the County does maintain a dashboard which includes the Jail’s mental health data. It is unclear where the data comes from.
Gundu claims that three of the five men who died most recently in Harris County custody had a long history of cycling through state psychiatric hospitals and correctional facilities.
“Public health issues become public safety issues when they’re not connecting people to the appropriate level of care when they need it,” she said. “They keep cycling in and this is what happens. This is the outcome.”
Texas Observer: Texas Lawmakers Push ‘Massive Secrecy Grab’ to Shield Police Files
State legislators have proposed SB 14 and HB 14, which would allow police to conceal certain records from the public, including complaints of misconduct. The details of the legislation may still change, but underlying any minor modifications is a fundamental debate about whether unsubstantiated complaints should see the light of day. “‘Unsubstantiated’ doesn’t mean ‘false,’” said Krishnaveni Gundu, executive director of the Texas Jail Project.
‘Unsubstantiated’ could also mean ‘did not get a thorough investigation,’ or maybe ‘it wasn’t investigated at all.’
Abc13: HCSO inmate death investigated as in-custody death, attorney general says
After much controversy about the death of Alexis Jovany Cardenas, his death, which occurred as he was being released from Harris County Jail, will count as an in-custody death.
The Dallas Morning News: ‘Treated like a dog’: Dallas County jail fails state inspection triggered by complaints
A recent inspection by Texas Commission on Jail Standards found Dallas County Jail non-compliant for keeping people in holding cells for longer than 48 hours. During the investigation, an incarcerated person said, she was “treated like a dog.”
Krish Gundu, executive director of the Texas Jail Project, a nonprofit that advocates for incarcerated people, said even narrow inspections focused on complaints can shed light on broader problems in a jail. Not counting a problem as critical as missed medication is “is like helping someone cheat in an exam,” she said.
The state only enforces minimum standards, which Gundu said should be a low bar to meet.
“You’re deciding to cage thousands of people in a stressful environment,” Gundu said. “The least we want to do is follow minimum standards.”