‘Take action.’ Advocates urge release of Tarrant County inmate with mental health issues
Several Tarrant County residents speaking during public comments at Tuesday’s commissioners court session called for the release of an inmate who they said suffers from severe disability and requires mental health care instead of incarceration.
“A specific instance of concern in the jail right now is Kaiyere Campbell, a young man with a mental capacity of an 8-year-old,” said Harriet Harral of Fort Worth. “He was physically healthy when he entered the jail in December. I understand that he now stays naked in his cell, which is covered with excrement and food scraps.”
Campbell was arrested on Dec. 11, 2023, on charges of assault on an elderly person. His physical state has significantly deteriorated since he entered the Tarrant County jail, Harral said, calling on the commissioners to intervene. She told the Star-Telegram in a phone interview that she learned of Campbell’s situation and physical state from his mother at a meeting of concerned citizens on Monday night.
“He’s lost a lot of weight. He has numerous sores over his body, and he does not know why he’s there,” she told commissioners. “Here is a laboratory demonstration of how people with mental health issues die in our jail. If you just wait, if there’s no intervention, we will be here before long talking to you about the death of Kaiyere Campbell. Do something now. Take action. He should be receiving care.”
Campbell’s inability to understand his situation was confirmed by court documents that show that he was found incompetent to stand trial. A doctor’s evaluation filed in January found that Campbell lacked “sufficient present ability to consult with defense counsel with a reasonable degree of rational understanding” and/or “a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings” against him.
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Court records for Campbell include an order filed in February to transfer him to a state mental health facility, but he remains in the county jail, according to the jail log.
Others who spoke about recent jail deaths also called for Campbell’s release and proper treatment as they urged commissioners to improve the county’s treatment of inmates with mental health issues. Earlier in the day, they voted to recognize May as Mental Health Awareness Month.
Fort Worth resident Charles Bilz said that incarceration is not the proper way to deal with people experiencing mental health crises. He referred to Anthony Ray Johnson Jr., who died in the county jail after being pepper sprayed in April, by his initials, while calling for improvements to the county’s treatment of inmates with mental health issues.
“A.J. Johnson was mentally ill, he didn’t need to be in jail,” Bilz said. “Keiyere Campbell is mentally ill and needs to be in the hospital.”
Alan Lobaugh also mentioned Campbell and called for “full accountability” of Sheriff Bill Waybourn and a detailed plan for how the county will improve its inmate mental health care.
“And if we don’t get that from the sheriff, then we need to demand his resignation,” Lobaugh said.
Waybourn did not attend Tuesday’s session. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“The sheriff’s arrogance and failure to appear for today speaks to the very essence of the problem,” said former state Rep. Lon Burnam, a Democrat from Fort Worth. “He apparently seems to not understand the crisis that we face.”
Burnam mentioned Campbell and the “unnamed stepson of a dear friend” who was also found incompetent to stand trial, Burnam said, but is unable to get the medicine he needs.
“Their lives are at risk, because they are mental health patients incorrectly incarcerated,” he said.
