INSIDER
Texas prisons and jails are recruiting more teenagers to shore up guard shortage
Read full article: Texas prisons and jails are recruiting more teenagers to shore up guard shortageTwo counties house training programs in local high schools as officials pitch corrections jobs as gateways to criminal justice careers.
Feds accuse Texas prison agency of discriminating against employee for wearing a headscarf
Read full article: Feds accuse Texas prison agency of discriminating against employee for wearing a headscarfA federal lawsuit asserts that the Texas agency terminated a state prison clerk who refused to remove a head covering in line with her Ifa faith.
How Texas’ cash bail system and under-resourced jails can wreak havoc on women who are poor
Read full article: How Texas’ cash bail system and under-resourced jails can wreak havoc on women who are poorIn Texas, money can make a difference in how much time people who are legally presumed innocent sit behind bars awaiting the outcome of criminal cases.
Despite mounting doubts about his guilt, Ivan Cantu running out of time to avoid Texas’ death chamber
Read full article: Despite mounting doubts about his guilt, Ivan Cantu running out of time to avoid Texas’ death chamberConvicted of killing his cousin and his cousin’s fiancée, the death row inmate hopes recanted testimony and other new details spur a review of his case.
As the death toll in stifling Texas prisons climbs, congressional Democrats ask for investigation
Read full article: As the death toll in stifling Texas prisons climbs, congressional Democrats ask for investigationMost Texas prisons lack air conditioning. At least 41 prisoners have died of heart-related or undetermined causes since the unrelenting heat wave began.
A prison guard says she was forced to stay at her post during labor pains. Texas is fighting compensation for her stillbirth.
Read full article: A prison guard says she was forced to stay at her post during labor pains. Texas is fighting compensation for her stillbirth.The seven-months-pregnant officer reported contraction-like pains at work, but said she wasn’t allowed to leave for hours. The anti-abortion state is fighting her lawsuit, in part by saying her fetus didn’t clearly have rights.
Facing sex discrimination claims, Texas begins jailing migrant women under border crackdown
Read full article: Facing sex discrimination claims, Texas begins jailing migrant women under border crackdownOperation Lone Star originally targeted single men suspected of crossing the border illegally in mass trespassing arrests, but some claimed that not arresting women violated equal protection laws.
Prisoners’ relatives and former inmates plead for help as deaths mount in sweltering Texas prisons
Read full article: Prisoners’ relatives and former inmates plead for help as deaths mount in sweltering Texas prisonsSeveral lawmakers supported a call for Gov. Greg Abbott to bring lawmakers back immediately to approve air conditioning for prisons, which the Legislature declined to do during its regular session.
Investigation finds no fraud by Texas prison contractor that was paid despite cutting inmate therapy services
Read full article: Investigation finds no fraud by Texas prison contractor that was paid despite cutting inmate therapy servicesManagement & Training Corporation had been accused of defrauding the state by charging for services it didn’t provide and directing prisoners to falsify paperwork about their treatment.
Inmates are dying in stifling Texas prisons, but the state seldom acknowledges heat as a cause of death
Read full article: Inmates are dying in stifling Texas prisons, but the state seldom acknowledges heat as a cause of deathSince a heat wave gripped Texas, at least nine inmates, including two men in their 30s, have died of heart attacks or unknown causes in prisons lacking air conditioning. It’s been 11 years since the state last classified a death as heat-related.
Facing youth prison crisis, Texas lawmakers opt to build new facilities and funnel more kids to adult system
Read full article: Facing youth prison crisis, Texas lawmakers opt to build new facilities and funnel more kids to adult systemFor more than a decade, Texas has been trying to slim down its youth prison system, which has been plagued by years of abuse scandals. This Legislature is reversing that course.
Despite budget surplus, Texas Legislature makes little money available for prison air conditioning
Read full article: Despite budget surplus, Texas Legislature makes little money available for prison air conditioningStifling heat has killed inmates and exacerbated employee turnover in Texas prisons. But funding for air conditioning was whittled down in the draft budget released Thursday.
Seven Texas prison employees face dismissal over 16-year-old inmate’s suicide
Read full article: Seven Texas prison employees face dismissal over 16-year-old inmate’s suicideJoshua Keith Beasley Jr. had been transferred from a Texas youth facility to an adult prison despite a long history of suicidal behavior. Five guards and two supervisors allegedly failed to check on him.
Texas House budgets $545 million for prison air conditioning. The Senate hasn’t offered anything.
Read full article: Texas House budgets $545 million for prison air conditioning. The Senate hasn’t offered anything.Sweltering heat has killed inmates, driven away prison workers and cost taxpayers millions in lawsuits. The House budget would provide air conditioning for 46 prisons, but it’s unclear if the Senate will sign on.
“We are humans back here”: As Texas hunger strike wanes, prisoners speak out against solitary confinement
Read full article: “We are humans back here”: As Texas hunger strike wanes, prisoners speak out against solitary confinementAfter 21 days, the last of many Texas prisoners to consistently refuse food ended his hunger strike. In letters to The Texas Tribune, two prisoners spoke out on the dire solitary confinement conditions that led them to starve themselves.
After 10 days, dozens of Texas prisoners remain on hunger strike protesting solitary confinement practices
Read full article: After 10 days, dozens of Texas prisoners remain on hunger strike protesting solitary confinement practicesAlthough the number of men refusing food has steadily declined, 38 are still starving themselves to protest Texas policies that often keep prisoners in isolation for years or even decades.
More than 70 Texas prisoners are 3 days into a hunger strike protesting harsh solitary confinement practices
Read full article: More than 70 Texas prisoners are 3 days into a hunger strike protesting harsh solitary confinement practicesPrisoners have refused food to protest practices that have kept more than 500 people in isolation for more than a decade.
Texas prisoners launching hunger strike to protest state’s harsh solitary confinement practices
Read full article: Texas prisoners launching hunger strike to protest state’s harsh solitary confinement practicesHundreds of prisoners may participate in the protest beginning Tuesday, the first day of the state’s legislative session. Texas often keeps prisoners in solitary confinement for years or decades.
In Texas youth prisons, children trapped in their cells use water bottles and lunch trays for toilets
Read full article: In Texas youth prisons, children trapped in their cells use water bottles and lunch trays for toiletsGov. Greg Abbott largely remained silent as dangerous conditions caused by a lack of staff persisted at Texas juvenile facilities during the summer.
“It’s a living hell”: Scorching heat in Texas prisons revives air-conditioning debate
Read full article: “It’s a living hell”: Scorching heat in Texas prisons revives air-conditioning debateTexas heat has killed prisoners and cost the state millions in wrongful death and civil rights lawsuits. Prison rights advocates hope a budget surplus next year will finally push lawmakers to invest in air conditioning.
Almost 600 Texas youths are trapped in a juvenile prison system on the brink of collapse
Read full article: Almost 600 Texas youths are trapped in a juvenile prison system on the brink of collapseThe agency is so understaffed that teens have reported spending up to 23 hours locked in their cells, using water bottles to go to the bathroom. A staggering number have hurt themselves or been placed on suicide watch.
Texas suspends most transportation of inmates while it reviews convicted murderer’s escape
Read full article: Texas suspends most transportation of inmates while it reviews convicted murderer’s escapeThe review comes after Gonzalo Lopez escaped from a prison bus last month. Authorities say he killed a family of five before they found and killed him.
Authorities fatally shoot convicted murderer who killed family of five while on the lam
Read full article: Authorities fatally shoot convicted murderer who killed family of five while on the lamAuthorities say Gonzalo Lopez killed a man and his four grandchildren in Leon County. He escaped from a prison bus nearly three weeks ago.
Four days after audacious escape from prison bus, Texas still hasn’t found convicted murderer
Read full article: Four days after audacious escape from prison bus, Texas still hasn’t found convicted murdererOfficials are still trying to piece together how Gonzalo Lopez managed to cut through a metal door and hijack a prison bus Thursday. An extensive manhunt continues in Leon County.
Webb County, a Democratic stronghold, is set to welcome Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial migrant arrests
Read full article: Webb County, a Democratic stronghold, is set to welcome Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s controversial migrant arrestsThe county is the most populous to embrace the Republican governor’s “catch-and-jail” policy to arrest people accused of crossing the border illegally for state crimes, including trespassing.
Spared execution once, Texas prisoner Kenneth Foster could face death penalty again after cellmate's death
Read full article: Spared execution once, Texas prisoner Kenneth Foster could face death penalty again after cellmate's deathFoster had been the getaway driver, not the triggerman, in a killing that first put him on death row. Former Gov. Rick Perry commuted his death sentence to life in prison in 2007.
U.S. Supreme Court justices appear reluctant to loosen restrictions on religious advisers during Texas executions
Read full article: U.S. Supreme Court justices appear reluctant to loosen restrictions on religious advisers during Texas executionsThe latest Texas execution protocols forbid spiritual advisers from praying aloud or touching prisoners as the prisoners are killed. Some members of the high court said they feared overturning the rules would lead to a flood of requests for other religious accommodations during executions.
Migrants arrested by Texas in border crackdown are being imprisoned for weeks without legal help or formal charges
Read full article: Migrants arrested by Texas in border crackdown are being imprisoned for weeks without legal help or formal chargesDefense attorneys have started asking courts to set migrants free because local justice systems, overwhelmed by arrests under Gov. Greg Abbott's border security push, are routinely violating state law and constitutional due process rights.
After a Texas prosecutor dismissed dozens of migrant trespassing cases, some men were dropped at a border bus station
Read full article: After a Texas prosecutor dismissed dozens of migrant trespassing cases, some men were dropped at a border bus stationOfficials said immigration authorities weren’t interested in taking migrants who had no criminal conviction into federal custody. But without documentation, at least one newly released migrant soon found himself back in detention.
For third time in recent years, U.S. Supreme Court halts a Texas execution over rules for religious advisers in the death chamber
Read full article: For third time in recent years, U.S. Supreme Court halts a Texas execution over rules for religious advisers in the death chamberJohn Ramirez was scheduled to die Wednesday. His last request to the state had been to let his pastor hold on to him as he died, something the state denied. The high court wants to hear oral arguments on the matter later this year.
An 18-year-old Venezuelan was among the first set free from Texas’ new jail for migrants. No one knew what to do with him.
Read full article: An 18-year-old Venezuelan was among the first set free from Texas’ new jail for migrants. No one knew what to do with him.After more than three weeks in jail, a trespassing charge against the man was dropped because state troopers shouldn’t have arrested him under Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security push. He wound up in bureaucratic limbo for days as federal agencies passed the responsibility for resolving his immigration status.
Converted Texas prison gets first immigrant detainees as Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security effort ramps up
Read full article: Converted Texas prison gets first immigrant detainees as Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security effort ramps upBorder-crossing immigrants are being arrested by Texas troopers on state charges like trespassing, and they’re starting to trickle into a prison emptied to house them.
House and Senate committees advance GOP bail legislation, as Democrats warn bills could lead to mass detentions
Read full article: House and Senate committees advance GOP bail legislation, as Democrats warn bills could lead to mass detentionsLegislators in the House and Senate filed matching bills to change state bail practices earlier this week, echoing legislation that failed to pass in the regular session. On Saturday, committees in both chambers approved the bills.
Dozens who died in Texas prisons during the pandemic had been granted parole, new report shows
Read full article: Dozens who died in Texas prisons during the pandemic had been granted parole, new report showsAt any given time, thousands of Texas prisoners have been approved for parole but not yet released. At least 42 of those people died in the 12 months after the coronavirus first swept the state.
For the first time in more than 40 years, media was not allowed to witness a Texas execution
Read full article: For the first time in more than 40 years, media was not allowed to witness a Texas executionOn Wednesday, the state executed Quintin Jones, 41, for the Tarrant County murder of his great-aunt in 1999.
After sweltering temperatures killed Texas prisoners, lawmakers vote to install air conditioning
Read full article: After sweltering temperatures killed Texas prisoners, lawmakers vote to install air conditioningThe bill initially approved by the House aims to cool all of Texas’ prisons before 2029. But even if it is signed into law, the lockups will only be air conditioned if lawmakers provide specific funds for installation.