A New Civil Lawsuit is Filed on Behalf of Jenny, a Rape Victim Jailed in Houston, Texas, to Secure her Testimony
For 27 days, a mentally ill woman named Jenny was locked up in the general population of Harris County Jail in Houston, Texas, but not for an alleged crime. The Harris County District Attorney’s office at that time allegedly had her placed in jail to secure her testimony in a major rape case. There has since been a law named after Jenny that provides protections against such incidents. A new civil case in connection with this 2015 incident was filed on Monday, December 11, 2017. In this lawsuit, the doctors and hospital that allowed county prosecutors to take her out of the hospital and lock her up are being sued.
The case claims that an inpatient psychiatric patient cannot be simply handed over to individuals who may show up and claim authority to take her into custody. The event that instigated these actions was that then 26-year-old Jenny had a mental breakdown when testifying against her rapist. She was taken to a unit of St. Joseph Medical Center and diagnosed with suicidal ideation and psychosis. Fearing that she wouldn’t show up again in the case, prosecutors had an attachment order filed against Jenny, to lock her up in the interim.
The new lawsuit claims that Jenny’s rights were treated with callous or reckless indifference and that she was unlawfully transferred to the Harris County Jail. While Jenny was locked up, she allegedly did not get her medications regularly and she was attacked by another prisoner. The further claim is that Jenny’s experience with the county has been traumatic, causing possibly irreparable damage.
The rapist Jenny eventually testified against is now serving two life sentences.
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