Infected inmates moved to lockup in Fort Bend

Fort Bend County Judge KP George on Thursday called for Texas officials to remove from a state lockup in Richmond prisoners who tested positive for COVID-19 and were recently transferred there.

“They should not be coming to our backyard while we are trying to manage going back and reopening our county and our community,” George said at a news conference, hours after he released a statement encouraging county residents to contact their state legislators to “demand the convicted criminals with coronavirus get sent someplace else.”

Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel said 35 inmates are recovering from COVID-19 at Jester State Prison. The facility was chosen, Desel said, because of its size and proximity to Hospital Galveston, where inmates are being treated for COVID-19.

“They may not be ready for general population at their housing unit that they came from,” Desel said. “They may still need some level of convalescence before that occurs.”

A group of prisoners originally housed at the Jester I unit were moved to another facility before the current inmates were transferred over, according to Desel. Jester I unit, which usually houses substance abuse offenders, has a maximum capacity for 323 male inmates, according to the TDCJ website. It also has medical capabilities such as ambulatory medical, dental and outpatient mental health services, which are managed by University of Texas Medical Branch, the website stated.

In his statement, George said he was shocked to learn that the “State of Texas has been using Fort Bend County as a dumping ground for convicted criminals with coronavirus.”

The county judge said he didn’t learn prisoners were being transferred until after the process of moving them began.

However, Desel said that the county judge, the judge’s chief of staff and the county public health official were all made aware of the transfer through numerous phone calls on April 24. Starting that weekend, prisoners were being transferred from the hospital.

“There was not any expression of any negativity then,” said Desel.

Taral Patel, chief of staff for George, acknowledged they were notified, but were not given a chance to provide feedback on the decision to transfer inmates to the facility.

“It wasn’t any kind of advance notice,” said Patel.

Desel said the inmates are in medical isolation and anyone who comes into contact with them are in full PPE gear. He said he assumes more inmates recovering from COVID-19 will be transferred to the Jester I unit.