On December 19, 2017, 41-year-old Mosheer Rashid died at Conroe Regional Medical Center in the custody of Montgomery County Jail in Conroe, Texas, and another inmate died 17 days later. Thirty-five-year-old Carl Bible and Rashid are both believed to have died of the flu, though both reportedly had multiple medical issues. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office released a statement after the fatalities saying that prisoner areas are sanitized during cold and flu season.

Inmates in Texas jails have a right to necessary medical care. In many stories about deceased inmates in jails across the nation, it eventually comes to light that inmates were denied care until they had to be taken to an emergency room.

In Texas, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) and the Texas Rangers both conduct investigations of all custodial deaths. Records are checked against minimum jail standards to see if the jail was compliant when inmates died, whether they died of natural causes or suicide.

The quality of medical care in county jails in Texas is put into question when complaints issued to TCJS are given consideration. Most complaints are related to medical care, such as denial of care, alleged substandard care, failure to distribute prescriptions, and other issues.

Learn more in this ongoing series. In the next segment, specifics on alleged denial of medical care in the case of a deceased former inmate will be shared.

This website offers posts routinely for the purpose of providing assistance to former and current prisoners in Texas county jails. There is no intent on this site to suggest that persons or organizations committed wrongs.

–Guest Contributor