Holly Barlow-Austin

Age: 46
Name of Jail: Bi-State Jail
Location: Texarkana, TX
Cause of Death^*: Fungemia/sepsis due to fungus, cryptococcal meningitis, HIV/AIDS and accelerated hypertension
Incarceration Type: Pre-Trial Detention
Private Company: LaSalle Corrections
Incarceration Duration: About two months
Date of Death: June 17, 2019

Holly Barlow-Austin, 46, lived in Texarkana, Texas with her husband. On April 5, 2019, police arrested her at her home for a parole violation and booked her into the Bi-State Jail. few days later, her husband brought her prescription medications, including for HIV and for mental health needs, to the jail, but she didn’t receive it for days. According to the lawsuit filed by her family, “depriving her of these prescription medications put her at substantial risk of HIV/AIDS-related complications, including deadly fungal infections.” Barlow-Austin soon became sick. Her husband visited her repeatedly and saw that her condition was worsening, but he was rebuffed when he tried to raise concerns to staff, according to the lawsuit. During one 10-day stretch, Barlow-Austin experienced symptoms including blurred vision, vomitting, dizziness, headaches, numbness in limbs and difficulty standing and walking, but was neither taken to the ER nor medically evaluated. When her husband visited, he was told she was “refusing” to visit him; according to the lawsuit, LaSalle, the health provider, “didn’t tell him about her dire medical condition.” Dehydrated, malnourished, and in pain, Barlow-Austin gradually went blind and was unable to find cups of water left in her cell. While in visible distress and increasingly squalid conditions, Barlow-Austin received little help, water or medical care from jail staff, according to the lawsuit. “By the morning of June 11, 2019, she was so thin and emaciated that her bones were jutting out,” according to the lawsuit. “Her last 48 hours were tantamount to torture. The callousness with which she was treated amounted to abject cruelty that shocks the conscience.” Barlow-Austin died on June 17.

Family filed a federal lawsuit that was settled for $7 million. Complaint filed by Seattle, Washington, lawyer Erik Heipt and Texarkana lawyer David Carter