Residents and community members are demanding accountability from Tarrant County commissioners and the sheriff’s office over last month’s county jail deaths. More than 60 people gathered outside the Tarrant County Jail Tuesday morning before the commissioners court meeting, asking for answers on what happened in the events leading up to the most recent jail deaths.

Concerns Over Jail Conditions

That included Cassandra Johnson, whose 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. Multiple independent departments conduct their own investigations of in-custody deaths, Robbie Hoy, a spokesperson for the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, told KERA News in an email.

Dozens of people also spoke out during public comment at Tuesday’s commissioners court meeting for nearly an hour, asking commissioners to look into jail conditions and whether procedures are matching up mental health needs. Residents like Sabrina Ball told commissioners the county needs to be held responsible when it comes to jail deaths, pointing to previous settlements from lawsuits from past deaths.

Investigations and Accountability

Four men died within 11 days while in custody at the county jail in June. James Johnson died June 15 and Carl McCray died June 16 after medical emergencies, according to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office. Mack Greer, died June 18 at John Peter Smith Hospital after he suffered internal bleeding in his brain, his parents told KERA News.

Ricky Armstrong, Executive Director of Texas Commission on Jail Standards, told KERA News in an email that Greer’s death is now being investigated as an in-custody death by Haltom City Police Department. The manner and causes of death for all four men are pending.

Original reporting: Fort Worth Report — read the source article.