Mark Wayne Stovall was 53 years old when he died in the custody of Upshur County Jail on April 5, 2022. He had been incarcerated since being booked in the jail on March 31, 2022. The address of Upshur County Jail is 405 N. Titus Street in Gilmer, Texas, 75644.

The Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) has consistently reported that most complaints against Texas county jails are in regard to the alleged denial of inmate medical care. This issue affects county jails throughout the nation, as local municipalities struggle with costs associated with prisoner care.

County Jail Inmates Protest Conditions in a State Outside Texas

In news from summer of 2021, a federal judge in a state outside Texas refused to dismiss claims of inmates who said that medical care in a county jail was inadequate to the extent that U.S. constitutional rights were allegedly violated.

Back in 2019, there was an inmate protest in that county against both unsanitary conditions and denial of medical care that involved hunger strikes and refusal to work. Another of the claims inmates are making in that county is that financial policies deprive them of medical care, sanitation, and adequate food. Those policies seek to disparage prisoners, they also say.

Learn more in this ongoing series, including details about a prisoner outside Texas who was bleeding heavily and yet, allegedly, was denied medical treatment for hours.

Making inferences that persons or organizations have been participating in wrongdoing is never an intention on this website. Each post is meant as a helpful resource for inmates in Texas county jails.

–Guest Contributor