Texas Authorities Just Released a Detailed Narrative of Sandra Bland’s Time in Custody

Important new documents shed light on what happened in the Waller County jail cell.

In this July 13, 2015 video still-frame, emergency personnel carry a gurney near Sandra Bland's jail cell, at the Waller County jail in Hempstead, Texas.Waller County Sheriff's Department

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Officials in Texas on Friday released two crucial documents in the ongoing investigation into to the death of Sandra Bland, the African American woman who was found dead in a Texas jail July 13, three days after her controversial roadside arrest. Bland’s autopsy and custodial death report come amid doubts from her family about the official story of her death, namely that she hung herself. The autopsy results line up with the version of events that officials have made public so far: there were no signs of struggle on her body that would indicate her death was the result of a violent assault. The custodial death report provides a detailed narrative, written by police, related to Bland’s arrest and entry into the jail. Read the full reports below.

 

 

 

 

GREAT JOURNALISM, SLOW FUNDRAISING

Our team has been on fire lately—publishing sweeping, one-of-a-kind investigations, ambitious, groundbreaking projects, and even releasing “the holy shit documentary of the year.” And that’s on top of protecting free and fair elections and standing up to bullies and BS when others in the media don’t.

Yet, we just came up pretty short on our first big fundraising campaign since Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting joined forces.

So, two things:

1) If you value the journalism we do but haven’t pitched in over the last few months, please consider doing so now—we urgently need a lot of help to make up for lost ground.

2) If you’re not ready to donate but you’re interested enough in our work to be reading this, please consider signing up for our free Mother Jones Daily newsletter to get to know us and our reporting better. Maybe once you do, you’ll see it’s something worth supporting.

payment methods

GREAT JOURNALISM, SLOW FUNDRAISING

Our team has been on fire lately—publishing sweeping, one-of-a-kind investigations, ambitious, groundbreaking projects, and even releasing “the holy shit documentary of the year.” And that’s on top of protecting free and fair elections and standing up to bullies and BS when others in the media don’t.

Yet, we just came up pretty short on our first big fundraising campaign since Mother Jones and the Center for Investigative Reporting joined forces.

So, two things:

1) If you value the journalism we do but haven’t pitched in over the last few months, please consider doing so now—we urgently need a lot of help to make up for lost ground.

2) If you’re not ready to donate but you’re interested enough in our work to be reading this, please consider signing up for our free Mother Jones Daily newsletter to get to know us and our reporting better. Maybe once you do, you’ll see it’s something worth supporting.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate