Texas medical neglect cases stir concerns about prison health care

Two deaths came after possible mistakes by staff; lawmaker asks for investigation.

Eleven months ago, convicted murderer Larry Louis Cox died of injuries after scuffling with guards at a Huntsville prison and receiving limited medical care for more than a week as he lay in his cell. A medical examiner ruled his death a homicide due to medical neglect. No one was prosecuted or disciplined.

In June 2003, a convicted sex offender hanged himself in front of guards at a prison near Wichita Falls, and, even though they immediately cut him down, he died after medical treatment was delayed. No one was prosecuted or disciplined.

John Whitmire, chairman of the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee, said he fears that those deaths could be the tip of an iceberg amid a growing list of disturbing trends: Belt-tightening has left many prisons without medical staff at night. Other prisons operate with greatly reduced medical staffs. A shortage of prison guards could be further limiting access to medical care.

"It's what I don't know that scares me," Whitmire said Tuesday as he asked the Texas Department of Public Safety and the FBI to investigate Cox's death at the Huntsville prison unit. "We need to get to the bottom of this."

Statesman