During the Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting on Tuesday, Sheriff Bill Waybourn presented an inspection report detailing the causes of death for 58 inmates over a span of seven years.
“I was in Washington in February, and with all the concern about deaths in the jail, I approached the DOJ and National Institute of Corrections, and I said, Tell me what you all do. And they said, we come, we inspect, we review, we suggest we do all those things,” Waybourn said, reported WFAA.
Waybourn presented an 18-slide presentation to the commissioners outlining the National Institute of Corrections (N.I.C.) inspection of the jail. One slide detailed the causes of death for 58 inmates, most of whom died from natural causes.
“Forty-five of those have been natural deaths. You can see what they were from cardiac cancer, HIV, that type of thing. Suicide, six suicides, seven from toxicity, alcohol or drug issues,” Waybourn said during Tuesday’s meeting, per WFAA.
However, Democrat Commissioner Alisa Simmons expressed dissatisfaction with the N.I.C. report and requested that the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division investigate the jail.
“If nothing is wrong, then his door should be open. He should not be emotional about a commissioner’s request to have the DOJ come in to see what’s right to determine what’s wrong and to come up with solutions,” Simmons said, per WFAA.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Waybourn has received positive feedback from the community.
“Residents of Tarrant County deserve to live in safe communities. Electing radical Democrats who openly advocate for defunding the police will cause a dramatic increase in crime, just like we see in large Democrat-run cities. That is why we need to re-elect Sheriff Bill Waybourn. He is strong on crime and will keep Tarrant County safe for our families,” Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Bo French previously told The Dallas Express.
JPS Health Network also provided positive comments about the jail’s condition.
“We are immensely proud of the efforts of every individual across the JPS Health Network, including our dedicated team that provides essential healthcare services to patients at the Tarrant County Jail,” the JPS Health Network said in a statement, reported CBS Dallas.