×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Private Prison in Texas Closes after Riot Renders it Uninhabitable
Loaded on Dec. 7, 2016
by Matthew Clarke
published in Prison Legal News
December, 2016, page 20
Filed under:
Private Prisons,
Management and Training Corporation,
Prison Rebellion,
Conditions of Confinement,
Immigration.
Location:
Texas.
On February 20, 2015, an uprising occurred at the Willacy County Correctional Center (WCCC), a private prison located in Raymondville, Texas that was operated by Utah-based Management and Training Corporation (MTC). The facility primarily housed criminal immigrant prisoners for the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The riot lasted two …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Prison Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- “This Man Will Almost Certainly Die”
- Missouri County Settles Suit Over Jail Prisoner’s Suicide for $260,000
- Heck Satisfied if Ruling Fails to Address Issues but Reverses Conviction
- Reforms at New Orleans Jail Slow to Materialize; Death Reporting Problematic, by David Reutter
- Michigan Prison Guards Fired Following Suicide Bet
- Pennsylvania: DA Apologizes for Undisclosed Gifts
- Private Jail Contractor’s Insurance Excludes Coverage of Detainee’s Death
- South African Prison Evacuated Due to Squalor; Two Prisoners Die from Rat-Borne Disease, by Christopher Zoukis
- Photo of Prisoner Beaten by Georgia Gang Members Posted Online
- Tennessee Sheriff’s Willful Denial of Public Records Merits PLN Attorney Fee Award
- Wardens “Retire” from Two California Women’s Prisons
- Ferguson, Missouri Under Fire for Revenue-based Criminal Justice System, by Christopher Zoukis
- Tennessee District Attorney Ends Sterilization in Plea Bargains; Prosecutor Fired, by David Reutter
- Another Appeal in New York Post-Release Supervision Case, by Matthew Clarke
- Former Warden, Sheriff, Justice of the Peace Charged in Texas Corruption Scandal, by Matthew Clarke
- Corrections Officials Stealing Prisoners’ Identities a Growing Problem, by Christopher Zoukis
- Corizon Faces Suit for Failing to Administer Tube Feedings to Pennsylvania Prisoner
- Tenth Circuit Rules on $3.38 Million Verdict in CCA Prison Sexual Abuse Case, by Derek Gilna
- Corizon, CCA Settle Lawsuit Over Solitary Confinement of Elderly Woman, by Matthew Clarke
- New Study Documents Lower Pre-arrest Incomes for Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- Are French Prisons Radicalizing Muslim Prisoners?, by Joe Watson
- Prison Survival Guides Find Audience Beyond Soon-to-be Prisoners, by Derek Gilna
- Merits Ruling on Procedurally Flawed Grievance Satisfies PLRA
- Father of Four Dies in Privately-operated Texas Jail; Civil Suit Expected
- Phoenix Fire Investigators and Insurance Company Implicated in Wrongful Prosecutions, by Joe Watson
- Missouri: Habeas Corpus Granted to Prisoner Denied Jail Credit
- If the Risk is Low, Let Them Go
- California Prison Employees Reap Staggering Overtime Payments, by Christopher Zoukis
- Attica Prison Guards Who Viciously Beat Prisoner Avoid Jail Time but Lose Jobs
- Fifth Circuit Holds Louisiana Prisoner May Sue Over Failure to Credit Good Time , by Matthew Clarke
- $500,000 in Settlements after Utah Prisoner Dies when Medical Technician Doesn’t Show up for Work, by Christopher Zoukis
- Missouri Governor Doesn’t Have to Serve as Public Defender
- More Suicides, Overdoses and Murders in California Prisons, According to Death Review Report, by Joe Watson
- Ninth Circuit Declines to Enforce Procedural Bar When Prison Officials Waive Rule
- Prison Rodeos: A Bunch of Bull?, by David Reutter
- New Mexico County Officials Settle Jail Prisoner’s Suit for $750,000
- Ninth Circuit Adopts Test to Excuse Exhaustion of Administration Remedies for Retaliatory Threats
- Connecticut Prisoners File Suit Over Exposure to Radon Gas, by Panagioti Tsolkas
- Prominent Texas Capital Defense Attorney Suspended for a Year
- Potential Class-action Suit over Domestic Violence “Victim Fees” in Georgia
- Widespread Failures at Crime Labs Continue to Plague Criminal Justice System , by Derek Gilna
- Private Prison in Texas Closes after Riot Renders it Uninhabitable, by Matthew Clarke
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, April 1, 2026
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, April 1, 2026
- Unsafe Drinking Water at Multiple Texas Prisons Highlights Lack of Transparency, April 1, 2026
- Fourth Circuit Holds Federal Prisoner Does Not Earn First Step Act Time Credits While in Transit Between Prisons, March 1, 2026
- Missouri Judge Heavily Sanctions DOC for “Deliberate Disregard for the Authority of This Court” in Suit Over Prisoner’s Suicide, March 1, 2026
- Texas State Jails Fail: Institutions Conceived as Safe Spots for Rehabilitation After Minor Drug Convictions Now Flooded With Drugs and Major Felons, March 1, 2026
- Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Tulsa Jail Withholds Records Related to Detainee Deaths, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Wrongful Death, Suicides, Access to Media, Public Records Act.
- Analysts Recommend Closing California’s Soledad Prison, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Cost of Prison Systems.
- More Measles Cases Detected at Jails in New Mexico and Texas, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Contagious Disease -- Misc., Overcrowding, Jail Specific, Immigration Detention.
- ICE Taps New Contractor to Run Deadly Detention Center in Texas, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Contractor Misconduct, Systemic Medical Neglect, Totality of Conditions, Immigration Detention.
- New York Governor Pulls Plug on Prison Watchdog Funding, March 1, 2026. Guard Misconduct, Prison Reform, Conditions of Confinement, Guards/Staff, State Legislation.
- Utah Pushes for Additional $130 Million to Expand Prison that Cost $1 Billion, March 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), State Legislation, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Fifth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Suit by Civilly Committed Texan, Dec. 1, 2025. Sex Offenders (Discrimination), Conditions of Confinement, Complaints, Grievances, Civil Commitment.
- Angola Prison Re-Opens Area Once Called “The Dungeon” to Hold Immigrants, Oct. 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Detention - Generally.
- Inspectors Urge New Jersey to Demolish Old, “Inhumane” Prison, Oct. 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Overcrowding, Rural Prisons.
- Help Wanted: 31,000 Prison Guard Jobs Open Nationwide, Sept. 1, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Failure to Protect (General), Staffing, Exercise, Lockdowns, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Guards/Staff, Staff Training.

