No one will storm the Tarrant County Jail, but the spirit of Bastille Day will be alive as protesters gather at 8am tomorrow/Tuesday at Belknap Street and 100 N Burnett St to draw attention to all the inmate deaths under the oversight of Sheriff Bill Waybourn since he took office in 2017.
Deaths at Tarrant County Jail rank among the highest in the state. Seventy-three inmates have died between Waybourn’s first day and this year. Though mostly attributed to natural causes, drug overdoses, suicide, and COVID-19, they all — along with two homicides (Anthony Johnson Jr. in 2024 and Derick Wynn in 2019) — reflect a stark lack of diligence and transparency on behalf of the sheriff’s office, critics say.
Four inmates between the ages of 40 and 61 have died at the jail since June. The deaths of Mack Greer, James Johnson, Cal McCrae, and Victor Runnels have prompted Commissioner Alisa Simmons to demand an investigation into the jail’s medical procedures and protocols.
Organizers the Justice Network of Tarrant County, Fort Worth Area Indivisible, Indivisible TX12, Progressive Women of Arlington, Good Trouble Lunch Bunch, and Texas Jail Project will present speakers and be joined by local political candidates who believe “It Is Time for a Change.”…