The Upshur County Sheriff’s Department in Gilmer, Texas, filed a custodial death report (CDR) about the April 5, 2022, death of Mark Wayne Stovall one day after the tragic occurrence. The CDR indicates that the cause of death was a pulmonary artery aneurysm, which is categorized under “natural causes.” Mr. Stovall was 53 years old and in the custody of Upshur County Jail when he died.

Denial of medical care and inadequate medical care are routine complaints against county jails, according to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS), but jails in many US counties are accused of the same inadequacies.

A Seriously Injured Inmate Goes Untreated for Hours

A prisoner outside Texas injured his hand while in the jail kitchen. A jailer escorted him to his cell on a 10-minute walk, and the inmate claims that a path of blood was left behind them the entire way. The inmate asked to be taken to the medical infirmary, but the jailer ignored those requests and placed him in a holding cell. A staff nurse finally gave him medical attention several hours after he began asking for inmate medical care. It turned out that the injury involved a partially severed tendon, and hospital care was eventually provided.

Learn more in Part 1 and continuing installments of this series.

Implicating individuals or institutions in acts of wrongdoing is never intended on this website. Posts on this site aim to provide assistance to inmates currently or previously detained in Texas county jails.

–Guest Contributor