Rights Behind Bars files lawsuit against Harris county jail on behalf of TJP client 

In the summer of 2022, twenty three year old Mykala reached out to us from Harris County jail where she was being incarcerated pretrial on a felony charge that was later dismissed.

While in jail, Mykala was assaulted and abused on multiple occasions which led to suicide attempts and a miscarriage. We worked feverishly to file complaints and intervene on her behalf during the entire duration of her incarceration.

For more than three months, both the jail and the regulatory agencies failed in their duty to provide Mykala basic protections. They stonewalled us and accused her of lying.

We documented Mykala’s story and the experience of other pregnant women in Harris County jail in our essays published in The Slate and The Appeal magazines in 2022. After her release, we supported her with mutual aid and legal resources.

In February, after almost two years of struggling to unearth all the details of her horrific time inside Harris county jail, we collaborated with Rights Behind Bars to file a lawsuit against Harris county jail.

We continue to support Mykala in her journey.