inmate deaths

Last year was the deadliest year in ICE detention in two decades. Nearly a quarter of those deaths occurred in Texas.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in an opinion the Texas Commission on Jail Standards has the authority to hire an independent investigator to look into all custody deaths. The opinion is in response to a letter sent by Tarrant County District Attorney Phil Sorrells last year.

As a part of a yearlong study, Texas county jails are collecting data about pregnant inmates' prenatal care, mental health indicators, pregnancy outcomes and more.

A new comprehensive analysis of state data shows Texas prisons get so hot in summer that temperatures there would routinely violate state standards for other types of lockups. The state will be back in federal court to defend the conditions behind bars.

Wyandotte County Deputy Richard Fatherley is free while he awaits trial in the July 5 death of Charles Adair, who prosecutors say was killed when Fatherly knelt on his back. Fatherley, who faced his first hearing Tuesday, wasn’t required to appear in court in person, which the judge said was standard early in the judicial process when substantive issues aren't heard.

The death of Charles Adair, 50, which has been ruled a homicide, was due to a common police procedure called prone restraint. "This is in the hands of the law officers," a medical expert said.

Charles Adair, 50, was killed by “mechanical asphyxia,” which was ruled a homicide. A county coroner’s report obtained by KCUR reveals that during an altercation, a deputy knelt on Adair’s back.