Attorney General Ken Paxton issued an opinion on Thursday establishing limits on when an outside investigation must take place following a Texas jail inmate’s death.
State law requires the Texas Commission on Jail Standards to appoint an outside law enforcement agency to investigate inmate deaths. However, Paxton’s opinion specified that requirement only applies in cases where an inmate dies on jail property, as opposed to, for example, in a hospital while still in custody.
On Feb. 18, 2025, Kimberly Phillips died of malnutrition and dehydration at John Peter Smith Hospital while in custody of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office. Prior to her death, Phillips had refused meals over multiple days while in the Tarrant County Jail…