Tarrant County inmate’s widow asks Appeals Court to review opinion blocking her suit
Lawyers for the widow of Robert Miller, a Tarrant County jail inmate who died after being pepper sprayed multiple times, filed a petition with a federal appeals court seeking to keep her wrongful death lawsuit alive.
Shanelle Jenkins filed her suit against Tarrant County, the Sheriff’s Office and Texas Rangers Division before the deadline of two years after a death. But her suit lacked information to justify her claims of wrongful death, because the county and state blocked the release of public records until after the deadline.
After Jenkins did obtain the records, including a Texas Rangers investigative report, a judge denied her motion to amend her lawsuit with the new information.
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on April 4 upheld the judge’s earlier ruling. This new petition seeks a review of that opinion, alleging the court refused to review the new evidence.
Miller was pepper sprayed at least three times at close range during his intake at the Tarrant County Jail in August 2019. He was not given medical attention when he told a nurse he could not breathe and died the next morning at JPS Hospital.
Miller’s death was ruled natural as a result of a sickle cell crisis by a Tarrant County pathologist. Experts and members of Miller’s family who spoke with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for an investigation into Miller’s death say he never had the disease.
After the Star-Telegram’s investigation into Miller’s death, the county commissioners in December contracted with an Illinois-based medical examiner, J. Scott Denton, for a third-party autopsy review. The contract expired Feb. 28, and county leaders have said nothing about it since.
The Star-Telegram requested public records about Denton’s work. County leaders have asked the Texas Attorney General’s office for an opinion on whether records could be withheld from the public. County officials then told the Star-Telegram through the District Attorney’s Office that no records existed. The county has since pulled its request for an attorney general opinion.
County commissioners are expected to discuss the case during a closed session Tuesday.
Sebastian Van Coevorden, one of Jenkins’ attorneys, said Monday he believed the petition spoke for itself and that Jenkins’ legal team wanted to continue to advocate for justice.
This story was originally published April 17, 2023 at 6:03 PM.
