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Tougher Than the Rest: No Criminal Justice Reform “Miracle” in Texas
Loaded on Jan. 1, 2021
by Marie Gottschalk
published in Prison Legal News
January, 2021, page 1
Filed under:
Criminal justice system reform,
Food,
Eighth Amendment,
Water,
Exposure to Heat,
Effects of Mass Incarceration.
Location:
Texas.
by Marie Gottschalk
For more than a decade now, politicians and policymakers — from Barack Obama to Donald Trump — have lauded Texas as a model for criminal justice reform. They have praised the Lone Star State for being “smart on crime” and for incubating Right on Crime, the criminal ...
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More from this issue:
- Tougher Than the Rest: No Criminal Justice Reform “Miracle” in Texas, by Marie Gottschalk
- North Carolina Prisoners at Deadliest Federal Prison File Suit on COVID-19 Response, by Matthew Clarke
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Sixth Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Sheriff in Tennessee Prisoner’s Assault Case, by David Reutter
- Preliminary Studies: Black/Latino Populations Disproportionately Affected by COVID-19, by Douglas Ankney
- North Carolina Cancer Patient Dies From COVID-19 After BOP Denies Compassionate Release and Sentencing Judge Rejects Appeal, by Derek Gilna
- Federal Lawsuit Claims Texas Jail Released Man When Medical Problems Became Too Much Trouble, Resulting in Coma, by Dale Chappell
- Pandemic Medical Update: The Latest on Vaccines and Prisoners, by Michael D. Cohen, MD
- CoreCivic Sued Over Prisoner Who Committed Suicide in Tennessee Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- Magic as Rehabilitation, by Jayson Hawkins
- In Prisons, the Press Also Yearns to Be Free, by Casey Bastian
- California: Prisoner-Run Journalism Thrives with San Quentin News, Ear Hustle, by David Reutter
- My Ankle Monitor Won’t Let Me Take Out The Garbage, by Eleanor Bader
- Tennessee Juvenile Murderer’s Sentence Commuted, by Edward Lyon
- How Jails Became a Breeding Ground for the Coronavirus, by Keith Sanders
- Charges Finally Announced 32 Months After South Carolina Prison Riot, by David Reutter
- Alabama Court Allows Lawsuit Over Indigent Traffic Offenders Jailed for Not Paying Fines, by David Reutter
- Salt Lake County, Utah, Settles Federal Civil Rights Wrongful Death Claim for $950,000, by Derek Gilna
- Urban Redo: Lorton, Virginia Prison Recreated as Liberty Village, by Kevin Bliss
- Court Rejects Class Status for Nebraska Prisoners Facing Substandard Health Care, by David Reutter
- Seventh Circuit: Nurse’s Deliberate Indifference to Prisoner’s Pain Negates Summary Judgment Grant, by David Reutter
- Second Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment in New York Prisoner’s Due Process Lawsuit, by David Reutter
- St. Louis, Missouri Guard Has History of Taser Abuse, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Former Prisoners Making Less Than Minimum Wage Working for Nonprofit Doe Fund, by Dale Chappell
- South Florida: Jail Hotline Releases Report on Inadequate Health Care During Pandemic, by Saraana Jamraj
- Rapper Sues BOP Alleging Torture, by David Reutter
- As Prison COVID-19 Cases and Deaths Rise, Washington State Supreme Court Looks Away, by Mark Wilson
- Montana Supreme Court: Jail’s Blanket Strip Search Policy Violates Law, by Matthew Clarke
- Some Prisons Bear Names of Enslavers, Oppressors, Racists and Segregationists, by Matthew Clarke
- Over Half the Prisoners Test Positive for COVID-19 at Arizona Prison, by Matthew Clarke
- New Book on Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration, by Edward Lyon
- Louisiana’s COVID-19 Prisoner Furlough Panel Next to Useless, by Edward Lyon
- COVID-19 Hits Fairfax, Virginia Juvenile Detention Center, by Kevin Bliss
- Seventh Circuit Holds Illinois Prisoners Retain Fourth Amendment Rights to Bodily Privacy, Overruling Circuit Precedents, by Matthew Clarke
- Federal Class Action Settlement Aims to Eliminate Horrific Conditions at Santa Barbara, California Jails in Three Years, by Derek Gilna
- Almost Half of North Dakota Jail Tests Positive for COVID-19, by David Reutter
- U.S. Prisons Originally Designed to Prevent Spread of Disease Become Breeding Ground During Pandemic, by Edward Lyon
- Former Pennsylvania Prisoner’s Complaint Cures Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies, by David Reutter
- Georgia Prisoners Lacked Food, Water, Leading to Melee, by Jayson Hawkins
- Opioid Crisis in Canadian Prisons Needs to be Addressed, by Kevin Bliss
- CoreCivic and Securus Technologies Agree to Pay $3.7 Million to Settle Suit for Illegally Recording Attorney-Client Conversations, by Douglas Ankney
- $2 Million Settlement in Lawsuit Over N.Y. Prisoner Denied Emergency Eye Surgery Until She Went Blind, by Matthew Clarke
- Scottish Prisoners Issued Mobile Phones During Pandemic, by Kevin Bliss
- Private Health Care Services in County Jails Comes at High Price, by Kevin Bliss
- Sixth Circuit Holds Ohio Prisoner Can Be Executed Despite Previous Botched Attempt, by Matthew Clarke
- First Former Felon Elected to Washington State Legislature, by Daniel A. Rosen
- Second Circuit: No Error in Blocking New York Parolee from Attending His Own Civil Rights Trial Against Prison Officials, by Matthew Clarke
- As Millions Suffer, Congress Awards BOP $356 Million for New Kansas Prison, by Mark Wilson
- Tennessee Prisons “Naughty” List Shows Prison Staff Often Bring in Contraband, by Edward Lyon
- News in Brief
- Alabama Guards Accused of Excessive Use of Force, Hospitalizing One Prisoner and Injuring Another, by Kevin Bliss
More from Marie Gottschalk:
- Tougher Than the Rest: No Criminal Justice Reform “Miracle” in Texas, Jan. 1, 2021
- Incorrigible: The First Step Act and the Carceral State, April 2, 2019
- Kamala Harris’ Disturbing Brand of Criminal Justice Reform, Feb. 20, 2019
- Are We There Yet? The Promise, Perils and Politics of Penal Reform, Jan. 1, 2016
- Days Without End: Life Sentences and Penal Reform, Jan. 15, 2012
- Welcome to Fun Day: Crime and Punishment in the United States, Jan. 15, 2009
- Not the Usual Suspects: The Politics of the Prison Boom, July 15, 2008
More from these topics:
- Now Under Federal Receivership, New York City’s Rikers Island Jails Still Have No Plan to Improve, No Firm Date to Close, Aug. 1, 2025. Guard Misconduct, DOC/BOP misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Corrections Audits, Systemic Medical Neglect, Medical Records, Eighth Amendment.
- Fifth Circuit Greenlights Federal Takeover of Mississippi Jail, Aug. 1, 2025. Sexual Assault, Failure to Protect (General), Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Stun Guns/Tasers.
- Review: “Reforming the Shadow Carceral State”, Aug. 1, 2025. Reviews, Criminal justice system reform, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Fines.
- DOJ Inspects BOP Food Service Operations, Finds Troubling Issues at Multiple Facilities, Aug. 1, 2025. Failure to Protect (General), Food, Staffing.
- Watchdog Calls Out D.C. for Dragging Feet on Construction of New Jail, Aug. 1, 2025. Totality of Conditions, Overcrowding, Ventilation, Exercise, Exposure to Cold, Jail Specific, Lighting, Noise, Vermin, Exposure to Heat, Security Systems.
- Former Prisoner Informant Appointed Deputy Director of BOP, July 15, 2025. Prison Reform, Criminal justice system reform, Informants, War on Drugs, Pardons/Clemency, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Trading Guns for Drugs.
- Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Arizona Challenge to Private Prisons, July 15, 2025. Private Prisons, Eighth Amendment, Thirteenth Amendment, rights, Fourteenth Amendment, rights.
- California Prison Plagued by Toxic Water and Chronic Illness, July 15, 2025. Conditions of Confinement, Toxic Fumes/Chemicals, Environmental Law, Plumbing, Sewage, Water.
- Nearly $70,000 Awarded for Illinois Prisoner’s Excessive Force Claim, July 15, 2025. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Food, Guard Brutality/Beatings.
- Ongoing Detainee Deaths Push Rikers Island into Federal Court Receivership, July 15, 2025. Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Fire Hazards, Overcrowding, Eighth Amendment, Staffing, Environmental Law, Plumbing, Sewage, Jail Specific.

