Republican Tarrant County commissioner agrees jail deaths are concerning
County residents put pressure on the Tarrant County Commissioners Court on Tuesday by using their allotted two minutes to discuss the 80 deaths in custody of shortly after being released from the county jail since 2017. Commissioner Matt Krause said he shares their concern.
Krause, a Republican from Keller, announced during the commissioners’ June 9 meeting that the jail passed its annual inspection by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and commended the staff on their “technical perfection.”
Robbie Hoy, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said the detention staff consistently strives to exceed the minimum standards given by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. He also said there have only been 77 in-custody deaths, which is significantly fewer than other urban Texas counties.
“We are proud of our staff’s professionalism and the work they do every day to maintain a safe, compliant, and respectful environment,” Hoy said.
On Tuesday after the meeting, Krause told the Star-Telegram that his office is committed to getting answers about the four deaths that took place since the June meeting. The deaths prompted a 60-person rally Tuesday morning, and roughly 30 people urged the court to look into the deaths.
The pressure from the public speakers is nothing new. At least one person mentions the deaths in the Tarrant County Jail at nearly every commissioners court meeting in recent memory. Tuesday was different in the immense number of people calling for the justice and accountability.
The leading cause of death in the jail is cardiac disease, Hoy said. Many people come into the jail already struggling with existing illnesses, addiction or long-term untreated medical conditions, he said.
“By the time they come into our care, many are diagnosed with illnesses that are already in advanced stages,” Hoy said. “Working alongside our partners at JPS Health Network, we provide top‑tier medical care to every person in our facility. Unfortunately, there are cases where an individual’s illness is so advanced that there is no curative treatment available.”
Krause said he wants to see preventable deaths at zero.
“That’s our goal,” Krause said, “and if there needs to be more training, more personnel, we’re willing to look into that. Anytime somebody dies, it’s a tragedy, and if it’s a preventable one, that’s where I think we really have to look and say, ‘What are we not doing right, or what can we change to make sure that never happens again?’”
Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare, Republican Commissioner Manny Ramirez and Democratic Commissioner Roderick Miles did not respond to a request for comment. Democrat Alisa Simmons was out of office for a personal matter but has been an outspoken advocate of the families of jail inmates who have died.
Lon Burnam, a former state representative from Fort Worth and one of the organizers of the protest regarding jail deaths earlier that day, spok, calling the commissioners “negligent,” and accusing the judge of not doing his job.
“You have failed the 80 people that have died in custody in the Sheriff’s (Bill Waybourn) period of time in office, you failed the families, and you failed the community,” Burnam said before continuing to speak beyond his allotted time. He was then escorted out on orders from O’Hare.
Tara Maldonado-Wilson said she used to work inside the county jail and she knows what the intake process looks like from both sides. She said that inmates are at the “mercy” of their jailers to decide whether they want to give the inmates water or take them to the bathroom.
“This is about a system that depends on other human beings showing empathy and compassion, and that’s where we really need to be leaning in here and understanding that it’s humans that can make the system better,” Maldonado-Wilson said.
Steven Lawrence told commissioners that they would feel differently if it was their family member’s names on the list of 80 dead since Waybourn took office in 2017.
This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 4:14 PM.
