TDCJ’s Bryan Collier Challenged at Public Meeting: Families and Advocates Complain of Death and Misery in State’s Prison System – News

One after another the family of came Jovian Motley – his father, grandmother, uncle and cousins ​​– stood up and denounced Bryan Collierthe executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justicethe agency that administers the state’s prison system.

Family members lamented — some angrily, some wearily — that it had been 165 days since Motley’s death, but TDCJ still hasn’t adequately explained what happened. The agency has said that Motley, a 27-year-old corrections officer with the Wainwright Unit, joined four other COs on the night of Nov. 13, 2023, to remove an inmate from a pitch-black cell. A struggle ensued and Motley died of asphyxiation. Little else has been revealed. Motley’s mother, Tammica, told the story Chronicle the family suspects the agency is hiding evidence of misconduct. She has demanded Collier’s resignation.

In a message to the ChronicleTDCJ offered a list of Collier’s accomplishments and said he has no plans to retire. It also expressed condolences to the Motley family. “TDCJ acknowledges the deep sadness surrounding the tragic passing of Officer Motley,” the message said. “The agency will recognize Officer Motley at the annual Fallen Officer Memorial Ceremony on May 10.” The agency also said it has revised its behavioral intervention plan in response to Jovian Motley’s death.

Tammica Motley questioned whether the new protocol would have kept her son safe during the public comment portion of the April 26 meeting of the board that oversees TDCJ, held in the luxurious conference room of the Renaissance Hotel in North Austin. After criticizing Collier and demanding his resignation, she turned to the seven members of the board, her loud voice distorting the microphone. “How many other officers have to die before they can do something about him,” she said, jabbing her finger at Collier. “His job is to protect and serve. Who protected my son?”

The chairman of the board, Eric Nichols, responded as he had done after other inflammatory remarks, with extensive consideration, saying, “Ms. Motley, thanks for being here. We appreciate you being here.” Collier sat upright and silent next to him, his head tilted high and his face red.

“Deaths in your prison system are at an all-time high, sir. When will it end?”– Tona Naranjo, mother of Jon Anthony Southards

In her comments, Motley said she has received more support from prison advocates and inmate families than from TDCJ. Tona Naranjo is someone who has offered support. Naranjo’s son, Jon Anthony Southards, died in an unair-conditioned cell during last summer’s extreme heat. Since his death, Naranjo has bitterly criticized TDCJ for failing to admit that Southards died from heat exposure. She placed a box that she said contained Southard’s ashes onstage during her remarks. “Deaths in your prison system are at an all-time high, sir,” she said, staring at Collier. “When will it end?”

Two dozen others, most of them women and mothers, also spoke during the 11-hour meeting. Hillary Randall told the story of her husband, who died last summer from complications of Grave’s disease, and said TDCJ could have saved his life if the agency had provided adequate medical care. Ashlen Gaddy spoke about the large number of prisoners using K2 and other drugs to desensitize themselves to prison conditions, with drug use linked to rising rates of suicide and assault.

Several prominent prison advocates spoke. Marci Marie Simmons by Leeuwin Justice has had an impact on the Women’s Alliance implored board members to visit the Lane Murray women’s prison, saying her group is hearing reports of sexual harassment and voyeurism by male guards there. Amit Dominick by Texas Prisons Community Advocates reiterated her call for the prison system to be air-conditioned as quickly as possible. Currently, 85,000 of Texas’ approximately 130,000 inmates are housed in cells without air conditioning. Dominick and others believe at least 40 inmates died from heat exhaustion last summer. A 2022 report from Brown University estimated that an average of 14 inmates died each year from the heat between 2001 and 2019. Last week, Dominick and Simmons joined a lawsuit against Collier, asking the federal government to declare conditions at the TDCJ prison cruel and unusual.

Morgan Shelburnea lawyer at the Lone Star Defenders Office, described other appalling prison conditions. Her group represents migrants arrested under Operation Lone Star, the state’s controversial anti-immigrant campaign. Shelburne explained that after arrest, migrants are held at three TDCJ prisons: Briscoe, Segovia and Lopez. She said prison conditions are so bad that clients often plead guilty to escape them, even if they are innocent.

“Clients being held at Briscoe have reported a serious rat infestation,” Shelburne said. “Rats enter their cells freely. Sometimes they describe them swarming in their cells. They also described a mold problem, which is that there is visible mold on the ceilings and in their showers. They reported these things to TDCJ staff, but conditions have not improved and they have received no response.

“Women in the Lopez unit report being searched several times a day, sometimes three to four times a day, before and after meals and during breaks. In all units, clients describe abusive guards who make racist comments towards them. They describe serious delays in responses to urgent medical care requests. And they describe inedible meals – uncooked meat and beans, hard rice, moldy potatoes – that they are fed for less than five minutes before their food is taken from them and thrown away.”