The Hidden Horrors of Texas’ Deadliest County Jail

Since 2017, there have been 65 in-custody inmate deaths at the Tarrant County Jail. There have been seven deaths in the year 2024 to date.

The most recent death was reported on just last Friday, July 12.

These deaths have come from suicides, overdoses, and fatal encounters with jail staff. But one recent death has been ruled a homicide, and two former Tarrant County Jail employees have been charged with murder. The concerns about the fatality-plagued facility have risen to the point where a congressman has written to the Department of Justice, pleading for federal oversight.

Who's to blame?

Many have put the scrutiny upon the sheriff elected in 2017, Sheriff Bill Waybourn.

“The sheriff has lost all institutional control of that facility, and it needs to be controlled by the feds at this point. I don’t know how many deaths have to occur,” said the lawyer for the family of the inmate whose death was ruled a homicide in an interview with HuffPost

What are the problems?

The Tarrant County Jail is the third-largest county jail in the state and has a capacity of 5,000 people. Despite contracting with a facility in Garza county to alleviate overcrowding, a jail standards review conducted in December 2023 found that Tarrant county jail was not in compliance.

According to the letter by the congressman to the DOJ, one unsettling incident reported from the jail included 'an unattended birth'

A report by news outlet KERA found that the Sheriff's Office had not altered or updated the restraint and use of force policies had not been updated in over 15 years.

Following the death of an inmate in April (that was later ruled a homicide), the sheriff terminated two officers for improper use of force related to the incident. Yet mere weeks later, the two men were hired back to work at the jail. They were again terminated following their indictments for murder and the sheriff has not given any official statement regarding the criminal charges since.

What's Next?

At least one county commissioner has called for the resignation of Sheriff Waybourn, stating that the number of deaths are unacceptably high and the jail needs a sheriff better able to serve the needs of an inmate population in their care.

The same commissioner has requested a briefing on the Sheriff's Office standard operating procedures for the next Commissioners Court meeting that took place Tuesday.

Change is surely in the air for Tarrant County Jail, but the question is where it will land. Will there be an action from the Commissioner's Court? The Feds? Will the Sheriff resign?

Time will tell.