Fifty-three-year-old Anne Elizabeth Murphy was booked into Harris County Jail in Houston, Texas, on November 8, 2021. On December 1, 2021, fellow inmates reported that she was in need of medical help. She received emergency aid and was transported to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead that same day.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) establishes the operational procedures for Texas county jails. TCJS has approved the use of restraint chairs.

Restraint Chairs Continued

Throughout the US, various watchdog groups have exposed data showing that restraint chairs are associated with many inmate deaths and a range of disturbing abuses. As a result of widespread findings such as these, many jurisdictions have outlawed the use of restraint chairs. 

Manufacturers include information about restraint chairs that is widely understood, and it has to do with the health of those strapped into the chairs. Namely, if a person is immobilized in a restraint chair after vigorous activity of any kind, the potential that a life-threatening blood clot will develop in their lungs is very real. On virtually every occasion in which a restraint chair is used, a strenuous struggle is involved in which law enforcement personnel secure the inmate in the chair.

In fact, one expose tells of a man who was strapped in a restraint chair for 16 hours and, upon his release, died from a pulmonary embolism or, in other words, a blood clot in his lungs.

Learn more in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series.

Inferring that individuals or entities have been engaged in wrongdoing is never intended on this website. The purpose of each post on this website is to provide helpful resources for county jail prisoners in Texas.

–Guest Contributor