Three prisoners died of thirst. All had water fountains in their cells. How could this happen?

Jails are NOT for the mentaly ill, what a disgrace.

Do Americans need to scream out loud from the mountaintops: "Bring back Mental Health facilities to America!!! And house your homeless!!!!!!!" This country doesn't care about the mentally ill or the elderly!!!

A lot of people fought to end the era of asylums because those people considered asylums to be cruel. Now, those who could actually benefit from them are left on their own with very little help.

“We investigated ourselves and cleared ourselves of all wrongdoing” -county jail officials.

If you can't keep your clothes on or know to drink water or eat then you do not belong in a jail

Just because there is a water access doesnt mean there is water access. Some jails have water fountains doesnt mean THEY WORK!

This is what happens when a society refuses its duty to provide adequate mental health services to vulnerable citizens.

Severe mental illness does not belong into a regular prison.

I am of a mind to believe that their water was cut off, but it was restored when outsiders got involved.

That’s disgusting. And that fountain didn’t appear to be functioning.

So they need to be in a mental health facility but are forced to stay where they cannot get the help they need and terrible things happen. What an effing surprise. These are people, for goodness sake. Unacceptable! No beds? Bring the healthcare worker there.

I really feel for this guy. My Mom was bipolar. She sometimes needed her medications adjusted. So one time she got arrested for ' disorderly conduct'. She wasn't drinking or on drugs, not sure if she was taking her meds. She called me from jail and was obviously not rational. She got arrested for acting weird in a 7/eleven and getting into an argument with the clerk. When I called the jail to inquire about my Mom,charges ect, police I spoke to were very rude. No compassion at all for her history of mental health issues. It was a Friday and they just said she would go before a judge on Monday. Whoever I spoke to seemed annoyed to have to deal with my Mother . They ordered her to a mental hospital for treatment on the following Monday, but she spent the whole weekend in jail and there was nothing my sister or I could do to help her. Later when she was well again, Mom told us a guard at the jail slapped her. They are not trained to deal with mentally ill and jail is no place for the mentally ill.

Excellent reporting I was a mentally ill inmate at Tarrant County jail my family had to get an attorney involved to get me my mental health medication. Unfortunately, not all inmates have access to these resources. Unacceptable.

half the time i was in jail those things (water/toilets) didnt work and the ones that did were absolutely disgusting

I don’t think I’d wanna drink water sitting on top of a toilet.

We need to reopen the mental institutions in this country.

Who else would drink from a water fountain with a disgusting basin located directly above a toilet? How deplorable!!!!

Perhaps the water to their cell was cut off as a punishment!

If the jail is qualified to house these people, they do in fact have an obligation to ensure they're eating and drinking. If the jail can't manage their conditions, whether mental illness, medical issues or physical disability, they need to transfer them to a competent facility.

I have been dehydrated multiple times. When you have a drinking fountain that looks like that, I can completely understand why she got sick. It also makes you extremely nauseous and not able to rehydrate without medical intervention. They are absolutely responsible!!!