海角大神

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R) has demanded a review of jail safety protocols following the death of prisoner Sandra Bland last month, which caused national controversy.

Lieutenant Governor Patrick said legislators will start holding hearings next month to discuss the problem of suicide in state jails. It is unclear whether Ms. Bland鈥檚 family will be invited to testify.

Bland died three days after being brought to the Waller County jail, following a violent interaction with a police officer during a traffic stop that reportedly turned aggressive聽on both sides. Her death was ruled a suicide by the coroner, but her family disputed that finding. As 海角大神 reported at the time:

Although Ms. Bland鈥檚 family members said that she would not have taken her own life, and suggested that her death may have been a homicide, the autopsy showed that the marks around Bland鈥檚 neck were consistent with suicide by hanging, officials confirmed. Her body also showed no signs of injuries sustained during a struggle, a Waller County prosecutor said.

Bland reportedly confessed to jailers that she had attempted to commit suicide in the past, leading some to question why these revelations did not prompt a suicide watch.

Bland鈥檚 treatment during her arrest 鈥� a cell phone video shows her on the ground, shouting at the police officer, 鈥淵ou just slammed my head into the ground鈥� 鈥� and the nebulous circumstances surrounding her death have fanned the fire of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, and raised questions about Waller County鈥檚 history of racism.

As the Monitor聽reported last month:

DeWayne Charleston, a former Waller County judge, ordered a black funeral home to handle the burial of an unidentified white woman in 2007. The order sparked controversy and local activists demanded that the woman be buried in a white cemetery. Another federal lawsuit, alleging that Hempstead was neglecting historically black cemeteries while maintaining white ones, was settled in 2004.

鈥楾his is the most racist county in the state of Texas,鈥� said Mr. Charleston, in an interview with [last] month. 鈥榊ou鈥檝e got racism from cradle to the grave.鈥�

One of the main targets of racial animosity in the wake of Bland鈥檚 death has been Glenn Smith, the Waller County sheriff. Mr. Smith was suspended for two weeks in 2007 and ordered to take anger-management classes after using profanity and pushing a black man during an arrest. He was fired as Hempstead police chief in 2008 and then elected county sheriff.

Despite calls for his resignation, Smith said he plans to seek re-election next year.

'I鈥檓 not a racist,' he said at a聽, 'Black lives matter to Glenn Smith.'

Since 2012, an average of 25 people a year have committed suicide in Texas county jails.

This report contains material from the Associated Press.