‘It’s long overdue': Experts call for statewide scrutiny of local jails amid inmate deaths, suffering

“It means we don’t know what’s happening inside those jails, and there’s no way to ensure that people inside are being treated appropriately,” said Michele Deitch, a national correctional oversight expert who runs the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab at the University of Texas. “They decide what they’re going to do, and the fact is that many jails are not living up to the constitutional minimum when it comes to the treatment of people who are incarcerated.”