Texas prosecutor to bring in outside help for Sandra Bland death case

A committee of outside attorneys will assist the Texas district attorney investigating the death of Sandra Bland, the black woman who was found dead in her jail cell three days after a traffic stop by a white state trooper.

Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis said Monday that the panel of lawyers will help his office make decisions based on “credible evidence and not rumors.”

“There are many lingering questions regarding the death of Sandra Bland,” Mathis told a news conference.

Lewis White, a former prosecutor and a defense attorney, and Houston attorney Darrell Jordan will lead a review committee in asking the “hard questions,” Mathis said.

Mathis said the case should go before a Waller County grand jury in August as planned, as long as the Texas Rangers and Federal Bureau of Investigation reports are completed.

The jurors will hear evidence in the case to decide whether or not criminal charges are warranted over Bland’s death.

An initial autopsy report conducted in Texas found that Bland likely killed herself. The report by the Harris County medical examiner's office notes Bland used a slipknot to fashion a noose out of a plastic liner that was taken from a trash can. Funeral services for Bland were held Saturday in Chicago, Bland's hometown.

Bland’s arrest and death have raised questions about whether she was mistreated due to her race, with civil rights activists and her family saying she would not have committed suicide.

In paperwork processed at the time of her entry into the jail, records indicate Bland had tried to kill herself using pills. It is not clear whether that attempt occurred in 2014 or 2015. She said she did not have suicidal feelings when she entered prison.

Bland died three days after being admitted to the facility, which has been cited in the past for failure to follow protocol on inmates, the Dallas Morning News reported.

In 2012, a 29-year-old man hanged himself with a sheet. In that case, the county jail was cited for not checking on the individual often enough while he was in custody, according to the paper.

Mathis also released an initial toxicology report Monday with findings that Bland had marijuana in her system at the time of her death, but she tested negative for all other drugs, including alcohol.

Al Jazeera and wire services