A grieving mother says she won’t stop fighting for justice in her son’s murder, no matter how long it takes, but for the first time she’s hopeful.
Evan Griffin Lee died while in Harris County Jail custody more than a year ago. His mother says even though the Texas Rangers said he suffered blunt force trauma, no one has been held accountable and she’s still gotten no answers about what happened.
Now Lee’s mother, Jacilet Griffin, has gotten the attention of Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, who is now vowing to look into the case.
“Some accountability and some closure is much needed now. It’s been 500 days. And it hurts nightly,” Griffin said.
She’s hoping to put an end to her sleepless nights. She says only answers about her son’s death will help that. He died while in the jail’s custody back in March of last year.
“They have not expressed anything to me,” Griffin said about the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Griffin says she only heard from doctors that her son had brain bleeding from blunt force trauma after the incident.
“I did not know that he had been transported from the jail. I didn’t know until I got the phone call from Ben Taub physicians that my son was in need of emergency surgery, and he could not make a decision for himself,” she said.
Several days after the shocking news, her 31-year-old son was dead. To this day, she says she’s still gotten no explanation. Now she brought her concerns directly to Ogg who spoke at tonight’s Houston Police Chief’s Positive Interaction Program meeting about the state of her office, in part touting recent success in reducing the number of backlogged cases that had been overwhelming the Harris County justice system.
“My son was killed in the Harris County Jail, and it was ruled a homicide by the Texas Rangers, so I’m trying to find out how the system feels that no grand jury should go on to find out what happened. How does the case close? I’m kind of confused with that system,” Griffin stood up and asked at the meeting.
“I can’t address the case without looking at it, but I’ll meet you in the back. I’ll get your case number,” Ogg responded.
Before the meeting, Griffin said she understands the challenges the DA’s office has faced, but that hasn’t softened the pain of her losing her son violently while in Harris County’s custody.
“That’s not an excuse, period. But it is a way to show some type of compassion to try and help with the backlog. There’s people in there that have reached out to me that’s been in the jail seven years, waiting for their day in court. That’s unacceptable,” Griffin said.
Griffin says after the meeting, she was able to speak with Ogg personally. She says Ogg had tears in her eyes when listening to her ordeal. Griffin says she’s been promised that the DA’s office will get to the bottom of this with a follow up call planned for tomorrow. Griffin says she finally has some hope for justice and closure.
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