Winter Storms Staggered Houston Jail

Austin (AP) – An unusually heavy winter storm knocked out electricity to millions of Texas homes and left many people without water service, but it also left inmates at the state’s largest county jail vulnerable, hungry and cold. Advocates and lawyers say Harris County Jail inmates have told them of stinking jail toilets that couldn’t be flushed, no access to clean water when the county was under a boil water advisory, and jail food being rationed. They say the storm underscored existing problems in Texas jails, such as overcrowding, and showed how unprepared they are for weather crises.