"Deadly Detention"

INVESTIGATIVE CATEGORY — SHOWCASE SILVER

The Houston Landing
Contributors: Alex Stuckey and Marie D. De Jesús
02/08/2023

Deadly Detention is a groundbreaking investigation by the Houston Landing that revealed nearly 200 people in Texas had been flagged as potentially mentally ill but died in jail instead of getting the care they needed.

The investigation relied on a combination of innovative data analysis, classic shoe-leather reporting, and narrative storytelling that didn’t treat people as an afterthought.

Investigative reporter Alex Stuckey created her own database of jail deaths by collecting thousands of public records collected from courthouses across the state. It was difficult work, but Alex became the first person in Texas to quantify how many people with mental illnesses were dying in municipal and county jails.

The same day the first story was published, advocates used the reporting to signal to the commission that regulates Texas jails that something had to be done. A day later, Harris County announced an influx of $645,000 for the jail’s competency restoration program, specifically citing Houston Landing’s reporting as the reason. Lawmakers introduced a bill – later signed by the governor – that, for the first time, would require the state to collect data on how often inmates are denied mental health services.

No one had ever quantified how many people who died in Texas jails were mentally ill. Deadly Detention changed that – and sparked change that potentially saved lives.

LINK to content online
LINK 2 to content online
LINK 3 to content online
LINK 4 to content online
LINK 5 to content online

Submitted by John Tedesco.