Harris County Jail medical staff knew of inmate's deplorable condition
Two detention sergeants and four supervisors at the Harris County Jail have been fired in connection to the mistreatment of an mentally ill inmate locked in a cell, which was first reported last year by Ted Oberg Investigates.
Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia made the announcement Friday, where it was also revealed at the that members of the jail's medical staff were aware of inmate Terry Goodwin's condition in the cell during the weeks he was locked inside.
Dr. Michael Seale, executive director of health services at the jail, refused to describe the incident as a communications breakdown, but did say that members of the jail's mental health team did see Goodwin as he was kept in his fetid cell.
"They documented it in the medical records," Seale said. "They followed policy and procedure."
No jail medical staff were disciplined, Seale said.
Seale said he was not told of Goodwin's condition at the time.
Also, Garcia has long maintained that he was not aware that Goodwin had been kept in such conditions until Ted Oberg Investigates began asking questions about it -- something that Goodwin's mother does not believe.
"Absolutely, Sheriff Adrian Garcia knew," Lambert said. "His highest officers knew and he did not?"
Both Garcia and Seale said the rules have now been changed so that detention officers and and medical staff can alert officials higher up in the command structure of the chain of command if they see something amiss, such as an inmate being kept in Goodwin's condition.
Goodwin's case was brought to light by whistleblowers who reached out to Ted Oberg Investigates last year with the allegations and photos taken from inside the jail, showing a cell full of trash and swarms of bugs.
See the original investigation here.
Shards of Goodwin's orange uniform were hanging from the ceiling light when he was found, photos show and according to whistleblowers, who also described that the cell was filled with piles of Goodwin's feces.
His sink, toilet and shower drain were clogged, not just with feces, but with toilet paper in an apparent attempt by Goodwin to cover his own waste and with orange rinds, perhaps in futile effort to mask the smell.
