March 2018: “When my relative was in the county jail (Central Texas), without you guys I’d have been totally lost! Diana wrote me many emails and she even called the jail administrator to find out why I wasn’t being allowed to visit my loved one who was very sick while in that jail for months. Also Texas Jail Project has an awesome board member named Maria Anna Esparza who talked to me about her experiences with a loved one held for years in a county jail and with mental hospitals—sometimes we still talk and keep up with each other. Diana spent several weeks helping me convince my attorney to file a writ of habeas corpus to get my son out of that jail. In about a week, that got my loved one transferred to a hospital.”
From Robert Rowan’s family: “Robert was born Aug 27, 1987, and he was a great man. He loved his family with all his heart. He loved to be out on the boat with his cousin William. He enjoyed working on cars, riding dirt bikes, riding back roads, having a cold beer and just enjoying life.
There is not a day that goes by that we don’t think about Robert.
His death was something that should not have happened.”
I have been fighting for justice for my younger brother since he passed away in 2012 [in the Bexar County Jail]. Tommy was a shy, but friendly, outgoing person, filled with more love and kindness than anyone I have ever met. Oh, how his smile was infectious and his laugh was always sincere and contagious! Tommy worked as an electrician for over 8 years, as well as helping out friends and family with anything they might need. His daughter was 3 years old when he passed away—she has his smile and his personality and that keeps his memory alive.
“My son Adan is in solitary confinement. Why? Because the jail considers that is the “safest” way to hold someone with a medical/mental condition. I was told that is for his good and the good of others. He does not have the opportunity to eat or mingle with other inmates. He has been in solitary confinement
Texas Commission on Jail Standards quarterly meeting, next week, August 7th, 9 am….Public input is brief and just after the beginning at 9:00 am. You sign up and can speak for 3 to 5 minutes max! They will listen and not comment. If you would like to express concern about pregnant women in county jails,
Linell Redden lost her beloved husband Robert to the Denton county jail, a place often accused of having poor medical care and indifferent staff. She gives her insightful comments on the 8th anniversary of his death.
“The inmates need to be given the benefit of the doubt when they have a potential life threatening complaint and they should be treated the sameway they’d be treated in any other any doctor’s office. Protocols need to constantly be reviewed and adhered to, and sometimes common sense needs to come into play. Don’t listen to those staff who insinuate inmates are going to the infirmary to do some easy time or because they want to look at a pretty nurse….a person in jail can be sick and if untreated, they can and do die.”
A wife reports serious neglect: “My husband is in the Harris County jail right now and they lowered the dosage of a psych med for PTSD, if they give it to him at all. He also has a severe calcium deficiency and no one bothers to give him the calcium packets anymore after he was moved
My son is currently in the Harris County Jail (HCJ). I want the public to realize and understand how dangerous it is for any inmate to be there. One of the doctors and several guards refused to give my son medical treatment (yes…it happens a lot and it happened to my child). Punishment for crime
“I would just like to tell everyone out there that there is hope and we can change things if we stand up and never give up, no matter if it takes awhile and with alot of determination, it can be done. I have fought corruption in Taylor County and we did get JUSTICE, not only for my son but others that were in the Taylor County Jail. It was a long and hard fight, but with the determination that I had and the help of someone who is a hero to me, Lance Voorhees, we saw justice.And thanks to Texas Jail Project! They came to Abilene when I contacted Diana. She and a group if TJP members drove up here and talked to citizens of Taylor County.”
