On May 17, a pregnant woman delivered a baby alone and locked inside her cell at the Tarrant County jail. After the Fort Worth Star-Telegram broke the story later that month, Sheriff Bill Waybourn, who manages the facility, explained in a statement that “the inmate did not immediately disclose the birth, but the baby was soon discovered by a corrections officer and immediate action was taken to protect the mother and child.” The infant died 10 days after being found in the cell. In June, a judge ruled the mother was incompetent to stand trial, dismissed the assault charge that had kept her in lockup since January, and ordered her into treatment at a state psychiatric hospital.
The unattended birth is part of a trail of recent horrors inside the Tarrant County jail as Waybourn faces re-election next month. Just days after the baby was born, state regulators found Waybourn’s facility to be out of compliance with minimum jail standards after an investigation into an inmate’s suicide in April revealed that guards weren’t conducting required cell checks. In late July, three of Waybourn’s detention officers were criminally charged after a man incarcerated inside the jail was beaten and left with a broken cheek, fractured ribs, and a collapsed lung; affidavits in the case say one officer positioned himself to block the view of a security camera, while another officer told authorities that such beatings were a “normal thing.” A climbing body count at the jail over the summer has raised even more questions about Waybourn’s ability to manage the facility; 10 people have died at the jail so far in 2020, more than in the past three years combined.
Waybourn’s race is one of several in Texas and across the country that highlight the potential role reform candidates could play in the growing movement to transform the criminal legal system. Unlike police chiefs, who are usually appointed by mayors or other city officials, sheriffs are more directly accountable to a public that can boot them from office. Like the rest of law enforcement, sheriffs now face increased calls for accountability, heating up what might have otherwise been sleepy down-ballot races that typically favor incumbents.
