Similar stories are coming from former inmates of the Dallas County Jail, who say they served too much time behind bars.
“I’ve lost so much that could have been prevented. It could have been stopped if they would have let me out when the judge said, Ms Willis’ time is served,” Cynthia Willis said.
Willis recently agreed to a settlement with Dallas County but said the county does not admit wrongdoing.
“The whole situation is inhumane. We got people that is incompetent put in positions that shouldn’t be in positions, and we got people creating a system that is always out of compliance,” Glenroy Dillon said.
Dillon’s lawsuit alleged the Dallas County District Clerk did not send the proper paperwork to the Dallas County Jail until months after a judgment was signed saying he should be released immediately.
Darius Richardson is part of a class-action lawsuit against Dallas County. He claims unlawful detention for 21 days after the county failed to send paperwork to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in a reasonable time, forcing him to remain behind bars at the crowded jail weeks longer than a judge decided.
“They have people sleeping on floors, even in the showers, like, they’re so crowded. You have a day room, but you can’t sleep in the day room, so you’ve got to take a stall,” Richardson said.
“We’re working a project right now … with some of the judges with the DA to see what we can do to, you know, better manage,” Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price said last month in an interview with NBC 5.
NBC 5 spoke with Price in September amid heightened jail capacity concerns. Price pointed to delays from law enforcement filing their cases and paper-ready transfers to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, but not the jail management system.
Both Dallas County Sheriff Marian Brown and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said they do not comment on pending litigation.
Dillon’s case will go to trial early next year, and Richardson’s case is part of a growing class-action lawsuit.