Three men have died in Tarrant County Jail custody within four days this week — raising serious concerns for at least one family, a county commissioner and several community members.
Mack Greer, 46, was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon at John Peter Smith Hospital after he suffered internal bleeding in his brain, his parents told KERA News Friday.
"We don't deserve this pain," Lead Hurd, Greer's mother, said through tears. "Our children are supposed to bury us. We're not supposed to bury our children because of somebody else."
Hurd said she received a call from the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office early Wednesday morning that her son was in the hospital, but wasn't given details on his condition or what happened prior.
She and her husband arrived at the hospital shortly after but weren't able to see Greer until hours later when he was already brain dead, Hurd said.
While at the hospital, an officer told Greer's parents their son had asked for a blanket and was found slumped over and unresponsive when a guard returned to give him one.
Hurd said the officer told them he may have intentionally banged his head against the wall to have caused the bleeding in his brain. His parents don’t believe the story.
"Mack was scared of pain," Hurd said. "Mack didn't hurt nobody, and he sure wouldn't hurt himself."
Joseph Hurd, Greer's father, said there were multiple bumps on his head on when saw him.
"I just want to know the truth, and what they're saying that happened is not the truth," he said.
His parents also said it's not possible he had an altercation with another inmate as he had been moved to a psychiatric hold by himself, suffering from depression and bipolar disorder.
KERA reached out to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office for details on Greer’s death and will update this story with any response.
Greer was arrested May 28 by White Settlement police on a charge of theft of aluminum, bronze, copper, or brass worth less than $20,000, according to court records.
Greer's parents said they were told by an officer he would be released on a personal bond after he was already on life support — meaning an inmate can be released from jail on their own recognizance without paying.
A judge had granted Greer with a compassionate release, which is granted when an inmate is in failing health and allows them to be with the family in their final days, The Tarrant County Sheriff's Office told KERA News in an email Friday.
Tarrant County Commissioner Alisa Simmons, who’s also running for county judge this year against Republican Tim O’Hare, said during a press conference Friday releasing Greer on a PR bond after the fact is too little, too late.
"Why after the crisis occurred, release him?" Simmons said. "Why when he was already on life support? To me, that looks less like compassion and more like an attempt to avoid the legal and public accountability that should follow a death connected to jail custody."
There have been four jail deaths in total in Tarrant County this year — fueling criticism of the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, which oversees the jail and has already seen scrutiny over jail deaths in recent years.
James Johnson, 40, was having a medical emergency Monday in his cell before he was transferred to JPS Hospital and died later that day, the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office said.
Carl McCray, 40, also had a medical emergency Tuesday when a jailer noticed McCray kneeling next to his bed and not responding to verbal greetings. He died later that day after he was transferred to the hospital.
John Barr, 36, was found unresponsive in his cell on April 19 before he was transferred to the hospital and pronounced that same day.
There have been more than 75 jail deaths since 2017, the same year Sheriff Bill Waybourn took office. Simmons and others have called on Waybourn to resign over in-custody death numbers in the past, with Simmons calling him unqualified to serve.
Waybourn told commissioners during March's meeting jail deaths have gone down annually since 2020. The sheriff said the jail has been working on several improvements to its operations, like increasing medical staff.
But this week's deaths raise questions about whether those efforts remain effective.
Simmons has been vocal in her concerns over jail deaths, the lack of details provided about those deaths and the legal troubles brought upon the county.
"Families deserve more than that," Simmons said. "And people in custody, many of whom have not been convicted of any crime, deserve more then that. This jail is not the execution chamber."
Previous jail deaths and looming lawsuits
Anthony Johnson Jr.’s death, one of the most controversial in-custody deaths at the jail in recent years, is the subject of one of those lawsuits.
Johnson died in April 2024 after a jailer pepper sprayed him in the face while another kneeled on his back for more than 90 seconds. He could be heard saying he couldn’t breathe in partially released video footage. His death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation.
Two officers were indicted for murder: Rafael Moreno, who kneeled on Johnson’s back, and former Lt. Joel Garcia, who recorded the incident on his phone.
Johnson’s family spoke to reporters at Friday’s press conference.
“If a person enters your jail alive and leaves your custody on a ventilator or in a body bag, that responsibility belongs to this county, the sheriff,” Jacqualyne Johnson, his mother, said. “Even after my own son was murdered in the jail on April 21, 2024, this sheriff has never accepted accountability, not once.”
His parents Jacqualyne and Anthony Johnson are still dealing with the criminal case two years later, with a pretrial set for September. At the same time, the family is filed a federal lawsuit against the county and 15 jailers, including Garcia and Moreno, for their son's wrongful death.
A judge dismissed claims against Tarrant County and several of the named jailers last year. The Johnsons have since appealed that decision and a hearing is set at an appellate court in August.
Cassandra Johnson also spoke in support of Greer’s family at Friday’s conference. Her son, Trelynn Wormley, died in 2022 of a fentanyl overdose at Tarrant County Jail after a commissary worker smuggled in the drugs that killed him. She sued the county and jail commissary company over Wormley’s death, but the suit was dismissed last year after a federal judge ruled there wasn't enough evidence to show they were responsible for the death of a man who overdosed on fentanyl behind bars.
“It's never gonna be too late as long as we get this continuing,” Cassandrs Johnson said. “We’ve got to do something.”
Tarrant County was most recently sued by the family of Chasity Bonner, a woman that died in jail custody in 2024 after a buildup of cholesterol in the arteries that causes obstructed blood flow, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office.
The federal lawsuit filed by her mother claims the jail and its staff violated Bonner's civil rights when they refused to provide her with proper medical aid that resulted in her death.
The county has also refused to provide Bonner's family with the full footage leading up to Bonner' death, according to the suit.
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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