FAMILY DOUBTS JAILERS' EXPLANATION FOR DEATH OF 23-YEAR-OLD PRISONER

Relatives of a 23-year-old inmate who died last week, reportedly from
injuries he received after falling in the city jail, said Monday they
suspect foul play.

Houston police are investigating the death of Donnie DeWayne Jackson, who
was arrested about 11 p.m. Wednesday in the 5000 block of Madalyn in
southeast Houston.

Jackson was booked into the downtown city jail at 12:10 a.m. Thursday,
accused of possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine, said Houston
Police Department spokesman Alvin Wright.

About 6:30 a.m., an ambulance was called for the prisoner after he
apparently fell and hit his head, Wright said. He died a short time later
at Ben Taub Hospital.

Jackson's cousin, Viva Cotton of Missouri City, said his injuries were not
consistent with the jailers' explanation.

Cotton said she observed trauma to Jackson's forehead, right temple and the
back of his head Friday morning when she viewed the body at the Harris
County Medical Examiner's Office. Jackson had a black eye and his face was
swollen "three times its normal size," she said.

"There's a lot of things that don't add up," she said.

The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office is awaiting results of a
toxicology report before it rules on a cause of death, a spokesman said
Monday. Cotton said the family has been told the medical examiner's report
will be available today.

"Anything that is a death in custody gets a very intense investigation,"
said HPD spokesman Fred King. "They heard a thump and he'd fallen. That's
what the jailers say and that's part of the investigation."

Cotton said Jackson placed several phone calls to relatives after his
arrest, but family members were unable to get in touch with him. The family
was notified of his death at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, nine hours after he was
taken to Ben Taub, Cotton said.