Thread by @TxJailProject

🧵CONTENT WARNING: Medical neglect, violence, pregnancy, fetal death, death.

It’s impossible to express the frustration, sadness and rage we shared with our community when we read Kelly Masten’s story last week.
star-telegram.com/news/local/for…

On Apr 11, 38 yr old Kelly Masten who suffers from a rare form of epilepsy, was arrested during a mental health crisis call. Kelly's almost daily seizures from the age of 2, have left her with the capacity of a 5-6 yr. old. Unable to read, write or take care of most daily needs.

Despite repeated requests from family to have her transported to JPS hospital, she was arrested and confined in a single cell in Tarrant co jail.

What followed is a horrific example of how carceral systems are designed to fail human beings, especially the most vulnerable ones.

After 10 days in jail with almost no seizure meds, no showers, no change in clothes, she was bonded out and rushed to the ICU at JPS. She was covered in bruises and at one point according to her family, seizing for nearly 24 hours.

Kelly's still in a coma, on a ventilator, fighting for her life. As Kelly’s sister says, “Every system that was supposed to protect her, not only failed her but actively perpetrated harm on her.”

After all that trauma, the prosecutor dropped the "serious" charge against her.

Kelly is not the first person to be criminalized and traumatized for her developmental disability by Tarrant county jail.

In 2020, Chasity, a 22 yr old Black woman with intellectual and developmental disability was arrested during a similar mental health crisis call.

Instead of being rushed to the hospital, she was caged in a single cell in Tarrant co jail for months, with no appropriate medication and no communication with her family.
fwweekly.com/2022/01/26/jus…

Her condition deteriorated to the point where she became non-verbal. When she gave birth alone in her cell, no one knew for hours. Her newborn died within a few days.
cbsnews.com/dfw/news/inmat…

In Chasity's case too, after all the harm was done, the prosecutor dropped the charge.

prismreports.org/2022/02/16/new…

Tarrant county jail was found non-compliant repeatedly by @TxCommJailStand and eventually decertified for a mere 6 days following an investigation that same year into the suicide of Dean Stewart.

police-misconduct-lawyer-texas.com/blog/man-commi…

It’s astounding how we continue to fund the systems that claim to work for public safety when they fail us and harm us, over and over and over again.

Taxpayers spent ~$10.6 mil per month in 2021 to cage incarcerated folx in Tarrant co jail. 13 people died that year in custody.

In 2020, we spent ~$10.2 mil and we let 17 people die in custody.

This year, 3 people have already died in Tarrant co jail.

As per @TxCommJailStand, 39 people have died in Tarrant county jail since 2019.

One of them was Javonte. A young Black man who also suffered from epilepsy.

star-telegram.com/news/local/for…

Another one was Robert Miller whose death is still shrouded in secrecy. Not only was Robert’s wife not informed of Robert’s death, she's still being denied any information about the circumstances that led to Robert’s death.
star-telegram.com/news/local/art…

If we cannot trust the @tarrantcountyso who’s entire elected mandate is public safety, to keep people in his *own* custody safe, how’re we supposed to trust him with keeping our loved ones in the community safe?

Enough is enough! We cannot, we will NOT let one more person be harmed!

We stand in solidarity with Kelly and her family and every single person in Tarrant county who’s been harmed by punitive systems.

Join us on 05/10 Tuesday at 10:30 am outside Tarrant county commissioners court to demand accountability.

See our complete action toolkit here: bit.ly/TCJNotOneMore

Read our demands letter co-drafted with @Thearcoftexas @UnitedFWTx @txdisabilities @TCJE_org @IceoutofTarrant @Faith_Commons @OrganizeTexas @pscwwp @WeAreFaithInTexas @FairDefense & LionessJIWA here:

bit.ly/NotOneMoreDema…

#NotOneMore #TarrantCounty #CountyJail #EndMassIncarceration #FortWorth #CareNotCages #PeopleOverPunishment #PublicHealth #Texas

@judge_whitley @CommGaryFickes @Comm4JDJohnson @CommDevanAllen @RoyCBrooks @TarrantCountyTX @fortworthpd @TarrantCountyDA @tarrantcountyso @JPS_Health @MHMRTarrant @fwpdchiefnoakes @RepVeasey @NicoleCollier95 @RepMattKrause @beverlypowelltx @KHancock4TX @TxCommJailStand