There was an uprising in a county jail in one major city outside Texas in which inmates set fires and broke windows.  The detainees were expressing their concern over limited visitation and stalled court proceedings. Those involved in the riot were extremely violent, and it took hours to get things under control.

One corrections officer was injured in an attack. He was treated at a hospital and released. None of the inmates were injured.

Passersby could see inmates standing near smashed-out windows on an upper floor. Burn marks were on the front of the jail. The inmates threw out mattresses, chairs, and exercise equipment. Inside, detainees clogged toilets and drains, causing extensive water damage.

Playing a role in the mayhem was the fact that inmates were able to tamper with their locks and free themselves from their cells, which had been a problem for months.

There were 633 people jailed in the facility when the riots occurred, but only 115 were involved in the riot. Tensions had been heating up for a while. Part of the controversy was that 65 inmates had been transferred from the county jail into a medium security facility, a place that activists had been protesting for years.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 of this continuing series to learn more.

Helping Texas jail detainees and their families with resources is one of the purposes of this website. There is no intention of suggesting that people or organizations have been involved in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor