Harris County Sheriff’s Office officials reported positive improvements in staffing in the county jail at the latest meeting of Texas’s jail oversight body, but were questioned on their plans to bring incarcerated people back from out-of-state facilities that don’t fall under the commission’s jurisdiction.
Thursday’s meeting of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards was the first since the Harris County Jail was found back in compliance with state jail safety standards back in August, and also the first since Sheriff Ed Gonzalez was reelected for his third four-year term on Tuesday. Despite getting a passing grade, the Sheriff’s Office will continue attending meetings due to an ongoing remedial order in place for the facility – and will face another unannounced inspection.
Before August’s certification —received with suspicion by advocates— the troubled facility was found out of compliance for nearly two years amid complaints of overcrowding and unsafe conditions.
The Harris County Jail now has 99 staff openings, down from 139 in August, a sign of “positive progress,” according to Assistant Chief of Detention Phillip Bosquez’s testimony to the Texas Commission of Jail Standards in Austin. Texas law mandates that there be a ratio of one guard per every 48 people incarcerated in jail.
County officials also expressed hopes that three new felony courts, which opened in October, would spur “dramatic decreases” in the average number of days people stay in the facility, said Tonya Mills, head of justice innovation at the Office of County Administration. Currently, the average stay in Harris County jail continues to hover around 180 days, compared to the state average of 60.
On Wednesday, the total jail population was over 9,500, according to public data provided by the Sheriff’s Office. Harris County Jail is only made to hold about 9,400 inmates, according to jail officials.
The Sheriff’s Office told the Houston Landing that, as of Thursday, over 1,000 people were being held at out-of-county facilities, 500 of whom were sent to LaSalle Parish, Louisiana; 360 to Natchez, Mississippi; 188 to Jefferson County, Texas, and 99 individuals were moved to the county’s newest facility, Natchitoches Parish Detention Center in Louisiana, over 200 miles from Harris County Jail.
At Thursday’s meeting, commissioner Duane Lock expressed concerns about the lack of oversight when pre-trial detainees leave Texas, particularly as Harris County Jail continues to improve conditions.
“As you bring the [new felony] courts on and the population goes down [in Harris County Jail], is the first priority to bring those inmates that are out of Texas back to Texas … or trying to bring out-of-Texas counties into Harris?” pushed Commissioner Lock. ”I ask that question because we really have no jurisdiction over in LaSalle, over in Louisiana, for example.”
“The private facilities we use for outsourcing are required to meet their respective states’ safety requirements and we conduct regular in-person visits to ensure compliance with contractual requirements,” said the Sheriff’s Office Chief of Staff Jason Spencer when asked by the Landing about how they hold such facilities accountable.
“Our goal is to discontinue outsourcing as soon as safely possible,” said Spencer. “The primary driver behind our need to outsource is the long-standing backlog of felony cases pending in Harris County courts, which makes our average length of stay about 5-6 times longer than the state average.”
Family members of incarcerated individuals used the public comments period to share their stories about their loved ones’ suffering under the Harris County Jail system.
Sarah Knight, mother of Jaleen Anderson, was among those who spoke up. In her testimony, she attributed her son’s death to his transfer to LaSalle correctional facility in Louisiana, which has faced over 100 lawsuits over medical care, according to reporting by the Texas Tribune.
During his time in LaSalle, Anderson experienced multiple seizures that ultimately led to his death, which Knight believes could have been easily preventable.
“One of the first things that I know that they could have done easily is give him a simple seizure pill,” Knight told the Houston Landing on Thursday. “So many people are dying behind medical reasons, simple medical reasons that could be prevented,”
“These men were Texas residents, yet, because they died outside of Texas, they’re now telling me they don’t have no jurisdiction to tell Louisiana what to do.”
At least two people arrested in Harris County have died in Louisiana correctional facilities since the beginning of 2024.
LaSalle Corrections did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the deaths of people transferred to their Louisiana facility from Harris County Jail.
Deaths while in custody in Harris County Jail soared during the years the facility was found out of compliance: 27 people died in 2022, and 19 passed away in 2023. A Houston Landing investigation also found at least six inmates whose deaths went unreported since 2018. The tragedies led to a lawsuit filed by over 21 families and civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who has represented the families of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, and Michael Brown.
This year, the number of deaths has drastically reduced. Seven people have died in custody in 2024.
“The Harris County Jail inmate mortality rate is consistently below the national and state averages among county jails, and has declined about 66% since 2022,” said Chief of Staff Jason Spencer in an email in response to a request for comment by the Landing on Thursday.
As Harris County’s testimony came to a close, the oversight commission’s Executive Director, Brandon Wood, reiterated that although Harris County Jail had passed their latest inspection, they were still under the microscope.
“We are requesting that the remedial order remains in place, in order to allow us to monitor compliance,” said Wood. “They remain in enhanced enforcement.“
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