Houston – A Houston family is continuing to demand accountability two years after a U.S. Army veteran died inside a Georgia jail while struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Friends, family members, and community supporters gathered Sunday at Godwin Park in Meyerland to remember Private Christon Collins, a Houston native and Army veteran who died two years ago while in custody at the DeKalb County Jail.
Collins died while being held in jail on evading arrest charges.
The memorial walk took place in the same neighborhood where Collins grew up, near the park where he once played football and near the schools he attended as a child.
Collins’ mother, Dr. Jonia Milburn, said the past two years have been filled with grief and an ongoing fight for answers.
“It’s a fight, but we just dare to believe that justice will be served,” said Dr. Milburn.
Milburn described her son as a loving and curious person whose life changed after returning from military service.
“He was an amazing son. He was fun. He was loving,” said Milburn. “It was extremely different. I had to have him stay with me and didn’t even realize that not only was community lives in danger, but so was mine."
According to Milburn, Collins had struggled with severe PTSD after returning home from the Army in 2018.
Milburn said her son was arrested in February 2024 during a mental health crisis while the family was living in the Atlanta area. She said she was trying to get him transferred to receive treatment through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“I was finally getting him help to go to the VA, and unfortunately, he died in jail because he ingested fentanyl,” said Milburn.
An inmate who gave Collins the drug that was laced with fentanyl was later sentenced.
Milburn said video from inside the jail shows Collins collapsing and remaining unresponsive for hours.
KPRC 2 obtained the video showing a snippet from inside the jail.
“He actually laid on the floor for over four hours unresponsive before any aid was rendered to him,” said Milburn.
The family says many questions remain, including how drugs were able to enter the jail in the first place.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump is representing the family in a federal lawsuit against DeKalb County jail.
The lawsuit was filed last October.
“Christon Collins should have been treated as a hero, but yet they treat him as lower than zero, as if he didn’t matter,” said Crump.
The lawsuit accuses jail staff of violating Collins’ constitutional rights by failing to provide medical care while he lay unresponsive.
Crump says the case highlights broader issues surrounding both jail accountability and mental health support for veterans.
“Mental health crisis is a crisis in America,” said Crump.
Milburn says her son’s story is why she continues to speak out, not only for Collins but for other families dealing with similar struggles.
“I’m never going to stop being your voice,” said Milburn. “I’m always going to fight it for justice, for change, and for accountability.”
The family’s federal civil rights lawsuit is currently moving through the discovery process in federal court in Georgia.
Milburn says while no outcome will bring her son back, she hopes their fight will lead to greater accountability and better support for veterans facing mental health challenges.