The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has the final say in requiring all in custody deaths to be investigated, Texas Attorney General said in an opinion.
Paxton wrote while the phrase “death of a prisoner in a county jail” only requires a law enforcement agency to investigate a jail death that occurred in the county jail itself, the jail commission can still enforce another rule that requires an independent investigation of any inmate in custody, regardless of where the death occurred.
Paxton's opinion issued Feb. 12 is in response to a letter from Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells last year. Sorrells asked the attorney general to clarify whether outside probes are required for every jail death or just those that occurred inside a jail county building based on the wording of a specific rule from TCJS.
Sorrell's letter argued that does not apply for people who die in a hospital from an illness, disease or medical condition while they’re in custody — which Paxton's response agrees with.
"However, this does not mean the Commission lacks statutory authority to promulgate a rule requiring independent investigation of prisoner deaths while in custody," Paxton's opinion read.
All in-custody deaths in a county jail requires an independent investigation from a law enforcement agency besides the one that runs the jail, according to state law. While AG opinions help understand how laws should be interpreted, only courts are allowed to make the final legal decision on what they mean, according to the Texas State Law Library.
“We agree with the Attorney General’s interpretation and Tarrant County will continue to comply with the law,” Sorrells said in a statement.
Ricky Armstrong, interim executive director at TCJS, told KERA News the commission will continue their usual work in the way they investigate custody deaths.
"We remain committed to transparency, accountability, and ensuring that the jails are operated in a safe and effective way." Armstrong said.
Sorrells’ request came months after multiple reports revealed Tarrant County failed to conduct outside probes for more two dozen deaths in custody. The jail commission at the time also admitted to missing the violations for years.
There have been 73 deaths at Tarrant County Jail since 2017, the same year Sheriff Bill Waybourn took office.
Waybourn told county commissioners last October he would not participate in any more briefings about deaths in jail custodies. He was not present during January's commissioners court meeting, when briefings were requested over the three most recent deaths at the county jail.
Krish Gundu, co-founder and executive director of Texas Jail Project, said in a statement Tuesday that Paxton's opinion means the jail commission's authority to call for investigations remains untouched.
"Sheriffs who may be interpreting this opinion to mean that no investigations are mandated in the custody deaths that are pronounced at a hospital, should tread cautiously and take note of the Technical Assistance Memo issued today by The Texas Commission on Jail Standards which further clarifies their authority to enforce their broader administrative rule ... which requires independent investigation of all in-custody deaths.," Gundu said.
Penelope Rivera is KERA's Tarrant County Accountability Reporter. Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at privera@kera.org.
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