STARVED TO DEATH

Woman With HIV Denied Water, Medication Before Death in TX Jail: Lawsuit

Footage of Holly Barlow-Austin shows her emaciated, crawling on the cell floor, scouring for food and begging for help.

A Texas jail is under a federal civil rights investigation after allegedly denying an incarcerated woman water, HIV medication, and food before her death. Holly Barlow-Austin died in the LaSalle Corrections Facility in Texarkana, Texas which has a history of alleged abuse and neglect. A lawsuit claimed that she faced inhumane conditions from an unconcerned staff, resulting in her becoming blind, starved, and unable to walk. The jail allegedly failed to provide her regular medication and, when her health suffered, she was moved to a medical holding cell. Footage of Barlow-Austin in the cell shows her emaciated, crawling on the floor, scouring for food and begging for help. She was allegedly given just three cups of water in a 48-hour period. The facility allegedly didn’t alert Barlow-Austin’s family when she was taken to the hospital where she died.