Tarrant County Commissioners made a landmark decision on Tuesday, approving the largest settlement ever in the county’s history. The $1.2 million settlement is in response to the 2020 death of Zenorah Congious, a baby born at the Tarrant County Jail.
In a unanimous vote, commissioners settled the lawsuit filed by the family of infant Zenorah Congious, marking a significant moment amid growing demands for accountability and transparency surrounding deaths within the county’s jails.
The tragic incident unfolded in 2020 when Chasity Congious gave birth alone in a cell at the Tarrant County Jail, with the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby’s neck. It took jailers 40 minutes to discover the birth, and despite efforts, baby Zenorah passed away just ten days later in a hospital.
Kimberly Hammond, Congious’ mother and legal guardian, filed a lawsuit against the county and others in 2022, seeking damages for wrongful death and neglect.
Commissioner Alisa Simmons, expressing her dismay, labeled the settlement “record-setting” before the vote, emphasizing that the county’s acceptance of the settlement does not imply admission of wrongdoing.
The decision to settle comes in the wake of public outcry following the recent death of inmate Anthony Johnson Jr., who died in the jail on April 21. Subsequent video footage revealed that a jailer, Rafael Moreno, applied pressure to Johnson’s back with his knee until he became unresponsive. Both Moreno and his supervisor, Lt. Joe Garcia, were subsequently dismissed from their positions.
Johnson’s death prompted discussions among commissioners regarding the county’s video disclosure policy and the deployment of special response teams to assist jailers during crises.
Public criticism during the meeting targeted the county’s response to both Johnson’s and Zenorah Congious’ deaths, with calls for Sheriff Bill Waybourn’s resignation.
Commissioner Simmons revealed that over the past eight months, Tarrant County has agreed to settlements totaling $2.2 million related to incidents within the jail. These settlements include $1 million awarded to the family of Javonte Myers, who died from a seizure in his cell, and $400,000 to the family of Dean Stewart, who took his own life in custody.
Funding for these settlements is drawn from the county’s self-insurance fund, with $3 million budgeted for such expenditures in fiscal year 2024.
Simmons criticized the cost to taxpayers, attributing it to a “dehumanizing culture” within the jail and leadership failures in the sheriff’s office.
Sheriff Waybourn, who has overseen more than 60 deaths in the Tarrant County Jail since taking office in 2017, defended the jail’s response protocols during the meeting. He cited a recent review by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards as validation of the jail’s practices.
Despite the settlement, ongoing lawsuits related to the Tarrant County Jail underscore persisting legal challenges.
“Zenorah was a healthy baby, a beautiful, healthy baby girl,” Hammond previously told reporters. “There is no way that we would be sitting here if they would have helped us by assisting Chastity in delivering the baby.”
