Investigation Into Sandra Bland's Death Will Be Independently Reviewed

The committee of former prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys will review the evidence of Bland's arrest during a July 10 traffic stop and her death in a Texas jail cell three days later.

Waller County District Attorney Elton Mathis on Monday announced the formation of an independent review committee in the investigation of Sandra Bland's death in a Texas jail earlier this month.

At a news conference Monday, Mathis said the committee — comprised of former prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys, who Mathis says "have no agenda" — will work with his office to independently review evidence of Bland's arrest during a traffic stop on July 10 and her subsequent death in Waller County Jail three days later.

The committee will be spearheaded by Lewis White, a former prosecutor and a Houston-based criminal defense attorney. Darrell Jordan, former legal counsel in the Texas senate and a Houston-based attorney, will also be part of the committee.

Mathis said the committee will help to answer the "many lingering questions" in Bland's death which was officially ruled a suicide.

Bland's friends and family have questioned her death in police custody, as well as the manner and reason for her arrest by a Texas trooper captured on dashcam footage.

Mathis also released Bland's initial toxicology report which confirmed the presence of marijuana in her system. No other drugs were found in her blood, according to the report.

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