As the Harris County Jail population surpasses 10,000 inmates, 13 Investigates what's happening that led to a woman giving birth alone in her cell and another dying of a diabetes complication.
As Harris County Jail population rises, we investigate what lead to a woman giving birth alone in jail and another dying of a diabetes complication.The last time Sarah Borchgrevink talked to her brother, she said he called from jail and told her he was worried about not getting insulin for his diabetes.
"Something happened when he stepped foot in the jail and for his blood sugar to be what it was, and for it to happen in such a short amount of time - there was an erroneous error that can never be rectified," Borchgrevink said. Advocates call the conditions inside the jail "dehumanizing" and tell 13 Investigates they're concerned about a public health crisis impacting pregnant and mentally ill inmates, and causing others to die of preventable diseases.
13 Investigates also requested information on employees who have been disciplined or placed on leave related to in-custody deaths. More than a month later, a sheriff's spokesperson told us, "we don't have this number readily available." We spoke with a female inmate who was pregnant with twins when she was booked in May for a new family violence charge while on community supervision for a previous charge.
"All of this happened to her only for her case to be dismissed," Barahona said. "I want community members to think of the cost we inflicted on her life, on her family's life, for a charge that would later be dismissed and it's a really important reminder that the majority of people in Harris County Jail have not been convicted of a crime, and they're legally innocent and may often go on to be acquitted or have their case dismissed.
In a statement a spokesperson for the jail told us, "The Sheriff's Office has taken many steps to ensure the health and safety of those entrusted into our custody, despite the challenges created by the pandemic and the backlog of cases pending in our criminal courts. These measures include the move to bring in Harris Health to oversee and manage the delivery of healthcare in the jail, which took effect on March 1, 2022.
Half of the inmates currently in jail were booked for alleged violent crimes, according to county data. "I understand that might be an uncomfortable answer for some folks to hear, but I would remind them that for decades we have known that pretrial detention - so jailing somebody before they're convicted - actually has the opposite effect of intended. It can ripple and cause more crime and harm in our community because of the overwhelming destabilizing impacts of incarceration," she said.
In August, an inmate suffered from a medical emergency while seated in the intake area and was pronounced dead later that night, according to a custodial death report the county submitted to the state. But, when we asked about specific cases, the sheriff's office provided few details, referring our questions to Harris Health, and advocates say that's part of the problem.
The sheriff's report for Shelton also said it "could not be determined" if he had a "pre-existing medical condition." When we asked about Shelton's case, the Harris County District Attorney's Office told us, "in the interest of fairness to all parties, we don't comment or confirm that there's an investigation."
One female inmate, who was arrested for possession of a controlled substance less than 1 gram, gave birth in her Harris County Jail cell alone in October 2021. Advocates claim the inmate called for help repeatedly from her jail cell, but none came.TCJS says inmates are supposed to be checked by jail staff once every 60 minutes.
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