The death of a 16-year-old in a Texas prison leads to a wrongful death lawsuit against state agencies

A 16-year-old boy who committed suicide in custody last year is at the center of a wrongful death lawsuit against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and others.

Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. was found dead on his back in his cell with a sheet tied around his neck at the Wayne Scott Unit prison on March 24, 2023.

His parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas Department of Juvenile Justice and the University of Texas Medical Branch, a health care provider in both systems. The lawsuit alleges his death could have been prevented.

The lawsuit says workers were required to check on Beasley for 15 minutes but did not check on him more than two hours before his death, even though nearby inmates allegedly expressed concerns that Beasley might harm himself. Since then, TDCJ has fired seven employees because of their involvement, the lawsuit claims.

Beasley’s mother, Amnisty Freelen, said in a press release that she hopes this lawsuit will change the system so that other mothers don’t have this experience.

“I will never have closure because my son died there,” Freelan said. “But this lawsuit means there is some accountability and an opportunity for change for other suffering children.”

A TDCJ spokesman said in an email Wednesday that the agency does not comment on pending litigation.

Beasley had been in prison since the age of 11 and struggled with his mental health. According to the lawsuit, his symptoms only worsened while in custody.

The lawsuit also claims Beasley was repeatedly punished for conduct based on his disability, which created a self-perpetuating cycle.

The lawsuit states that Beasley was sent from the juvenile system to the adult system less than a month after he turned 16^vol birthday in September 2022, despite an ongoing pattern of self-harm and mental health needs that featured in 1,000 pages of suicide risk assessments conducted during Beasley’s nearly five years in custody.

A judge in 2022 ruled that Beasley should serve an additional five years in the Texas adult prison system after he was accused of molesting and assaulting a minor employee.

Beasley’s mother fought to prevent her son from being transferred, but she was ultimately transferred to TDCJ’s Wayne Scott Unit, an adult men’s prison in Brazoria County.

The lawsuit alleges that TDCJ, TJJD and employees and officials of the University of Texas Medical Branch violated the Eighth Amendment, which limits the types and amounts of penalties that the criminal justice system can impose, and that these departments ultimately violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. which led to the death of Joshua.

“There is no place in the prison system for any child, much less a child like Joshua with complex mental health needs,” said Molly Petchenik, an attorney working in the criminal justice program at the Texas Civil Rights Project. “Locking children up only makes their mental health problems worse.”

AND a multi-year investigation conducted by the United States Department of Justice recently detailed constitutional and other violations at each of TJJD’s five facilities.

In August, the Department of Justice reported that Texas’ juvenile protection system failed to protect children from harm, including exposure to sexual abuse, excessive physical force and isolation, and an inadequate behavior management system.

Got a tip? Email Penelope Rivera at: [email protected].

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