Forty-year-old Armando Wayne Rubio was booked into Jones County Jail on June 7, 2021, and his history of asthma and the need for an inhaler was presumably known among members of the jail staff. One of the jailers asked Mr. Rubio on August 2, 2021, about his health and ascertained that he wasn’t feeling well. Although Mr. Rubio was given medical aid and transferred to a hospital, he died the next day.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has established minimum jail standards by which county jails must operate. Provisions for inmate medical care are included in the requirements for Texas county jails. According to TCJS, however, there are always more complaints about medical care in the jails than any other topic.

A watchdog group has published stories about pregnant inmates in Texas county jails and alleged lack of medical care. When investigating this specific issue over a course of five months, a common notion about pregnant women was detected, and that notion was associated with many stillbirths, miscarriages, and deaths.

Governor Greg Abbott recently signed a new bill into law that pertains to pregnant women held in county or state custody. The bill was written on the principle that access to needed medical care is vital for pregnant women, particularly if they have been assaulted or experienced a miscarriage.

Learn more in this continuing series.

This website seeks to assist prisoners now or previously incarcerated in Texas county jails. There is no intention on this site to make suggestions regarding wrongs that individuals or entities may have been engaged in.

–Guest Contributor