Dallas Jails to be Investigated

After years of general crappiness, the Dallas County Jail system is being investigated by the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice for it's mis-treatment of prisoners with medical conditions:

In the past year, the county has been hit with a series of federal lawsuits over health care in the jail. It has been buffeted by an expert's report that drew a scathing portrait of jail conditions. And it has endured a failed state inspection and repeated calls from advocates and medical experts for improving medical care.

The investigation promises to be thorough:

Eric Holland, a Justice Department spokesman, said that when the agency investigates a jail, it generally interviews staff, inmates and community advocates. Justice investigators will review medical records and observe daily operations. And if the investigation produces enough evidence, the department could not only force the county to make changes, but also hand information over to the criminal division for indictment. Mr. Holland would not comment specifically on the Dallas investigation.

During the investigation, they'll probably stumble across incidents like this one:

When the U.S. Justice Department begins its investigation of the county's Lew Sterrett Justice Center, it could do worse than talk to Chavers. On March 19, the 45-year-old Carrollton resident turned herself in at the Sheriff's Department after learning that there was a warrant for her arrest for driving with a suspended license. She expected to pay a fine and be done with it. But Chavers says that when no judge could see her late on a Friday afternoon, she was processed and sent to jail. Although she brought her daily lupus medication Coumadin with her, medical staff confiscated it at intake and told her it would be returned to her at the infirmary. On her second day at the jail, she went to the infirmary and asked for her medication. They said her name was "not on the list."

When Chavers finally saw a judge six days after she turned herself in, he released her. She returned home and immediately took her medication, but it was too late. She felt light-headed and had a stinging headache. The next day she saw her doctor, who told her she had suffered a mild stroke. Soon after, she had another stroke that nearly immobilized her left leg and arm while damaging her vision and memory. For nearly six months, she stayed at the Senior Health Care and Rehabilitation Center in Denton where she went through extensive physical therapy. Now she's living with her 71-year-old mom in a Denton apartment. Although she can't walk unassisted and has lost the use of her left hand, she hopes that with further physical therapy she'll make a full recovery. A year ago, she had a good job with FEMA; now she can't work, and her son is not sure how they'll pay for college tuition. But his mother is his first concern.

And so it goes. Welcome to the criminal justice system in Dallas.