Texas Senate OKs bill that eliminates independent reviews of ‘natural’ jail deaths

A Texas bill that eliminates the requirement for independent reviews of “natural” jail deaths passed the Senate on Tuesday.

The bill, authored by Fort Worth Republican Senator Brian Birdwell, also eliminates third-party investigation requirements when inmates are lawfully executed or when it does not appear a crime was committed.

The bill will now head to the House. If it passes the House, it will go to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

Birdwell’s bill comes as Tarrant County faces questions about the 2019 death of Robert Miller, who was incarcerated at the Tarrant County Jail.

Miller’s death was ruled “natural” from a sickle cell crisis. An investigation by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram found he did not have the disease.

Tarrant County’s sheriff Bill Waybourn had “minimal” involvement in the bill, a representative of the sheriff’s office said. The representative did not elaborate, but said Waybourn supported the bill.

Waybourn testified during a Senate committee hearing in November and advocated for reform when Texas Rangers review jail deaths. The Texas Rangers reviewed Miller’s death and reached the same conclusion as the autopsy.

“I just think that maybe we can look at a better way of doing that,” Waybourn said in November. “We want accountability, but sometimes it’s like, ‘Golly, what could he be doing? A murder case or something else other than reviewing this case.’”