Oft-sued Louisiana company ends contract to run Texas jail

TEXARKANA, Texas (AP) - A county’s top elected official says a company that has been the subject of several lawsuits over inmate deaths or injuries is ending its contract with a jail in East Texas that it has run since 2010.

Bowie County Judge Bobby Howell says Louisiana-based LaSalle Corrections is allowing its contract with the Bowie County jail to expire on Feb. 12.

The Texarkana Gazette reports that Howell says the sheriff’s office will manage the jail in the Bi-State Justice Building in downtown Texarkana and the annex behind it.

Sheriff James Prince says the sheriff’s office will begin managing the jail on Feb. 13.