The bill would mandate that county jails divert people with mental health and substance abuse issues toward treatment, make it easier for defendants with a mental illness or intellectual disability to receive a personal bond and require that independent law enforcement agencies investigate jail deaths.
Garnet Coleman
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Sandra Bland Act gets nod from Texas Senate panel
The legislation would mandate that county jails route people with mental health crises and substance abuse issues to treatment and install electronic sensors or cameras to better monitor inmates.
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Health care
As Texas debates CPS fix, caseworkers face long days, late nights (video)
The state’s top leaders have vowed to address the woeful shortcomings of the child welfare system. State lawmakers know that even in a tight budget cycle, they’re going to have to spend money to address the problems.
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Criminal Justice
Planned Texas jail reforms draw fears of unfunded mandates (video)
A year and a half after Sandra Bland was found dead in the Waller County Jail, Texas lawmakers are expected to consider new jail reforms. But rural sheriffs worry the state’s tight budget situation could result in unfunded mandates.
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Criminal Justice
Trooper’s attorneys might ask judge to toss indictment in Bland case
Attorneys for the state trooper who arrested Sandra Bland are considering asking a judge to throw out his indictment for perjury.
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Criminal Justice
Sandra Bland’s Family Looks Forward from Lawsuit Settlement
With one major legal battle seemingly behind them, Sandra Bland’s survivors and advocates are gearing up for the next phase of their quest to wrest change from the 28-year-old black woman’s death.
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Criminal Justice
Sandra Bland, Jail Standards Top Criminal Justice News in 2015
In 2015, Sandra Bland’s death jolted a conversation about inmate safety and mental health, while high-profile murder cases continued and Texas was criticized for the lengths it reportedly went through to find execution drugs for death row inmates.
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Criminal Justice
Lawmakers Question DPS Director on Race Reporting
State troopers can end inaccurate reporting of the race and ethnicity of drivers they pull over by simply asking them for that information, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw told lawmakers Wednesday.
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Criminal Justice
Black Lives Matter Searches for Its Next Step
More than two years after the heat of anger over Trayvon Martin’s shooting in Florida fused into Black Lives Matter, an Austin chapter is trying to mold its energy into an agenda to influence state lawmakers.
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Criminal Justice
New Statewide Jail Form Aimed at Suicide Risks
In the wake of the hanging death of Sandra Bland and other recent suicides, the state agency that oversees jails is issuing a new inmate intake form so jailers will ask more specific, direct questions when booking people.