Despite Reforms, Juvenile Offenders in Texas Remain Endangered
by Matt Clarke
Two studies by the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin found that juveniles held in Texas jails while awaiting trial as adults are often isolated with no access to education programs, and that ...
Jails Face Backlash, Class-action Lawsuits Over Debit Card Fees
by Matt Clarke
The sheriff of Dallas County, Texas had a good reason for giving prepaid debit cards to prisoners containing the balance of their trust fund accounts when they were released from jail.
“There was too much money handling,” said ...
Prison Education Programs Threatened
by Matt Clarke
Corrections officials across the country fear that two recent developments will drastically limit educational opportunities for prisoners – a scenario that research indicates could lead to higher recidivism rates.
First, Congress failed to renew federal funding in 2011, 2012 and 2013 ...
by Matt Clarke
On October 24, 2012, a federal jury in Texas awarded $2.25 million to the estate and survivors of a prisoner who died at a facility operated by LCS Corrections Services (LCS), after finding the company was 100% at fault. The district court subsequently reversed its dismissal of ...
by Matt Clarke
A study involving eight people who lost consciousness immediately after being shocked by a TASER X26 – the most common electronic control device (ECD) used by police, corrections agencies and the military – concluded that ECD shocks can induce fatal cardiac arrest by causing cardiac “capture” and ...
by Matt Clarke
The Texas legislature has erected such a hodgepodge of criminal court fees that even the court administrators and clerks don’t know how to apply them. These fees, which are frequently not used for their intended purposes, amount to a hidden tax on the poorest members of society ...
by Matt Clarke
In a November 14, 2012 opinion, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held prosecutors are not required to prove that a probationer was able to pay fees and fines when his probation was revoked due to nonpayment. The Court of Appeals reversed the probation revocation on remand, ...
On March 7, 2011, an Iowa federal district court granted a motion for a new trial after a jury awarded $259,155 to a woman who was improperly strip searched when she was arrested and booked into jail. Before another trial was held, a 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling changed the ...
by Matt Clarke
The number of prisoners granted medical parole in Texas decreased in fiscal year 2012 compared with those paroled due to medical reasons in the previous two years. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles approved just 72 prisoners for medical parole in FY 2012, down from 100 ...
by Matt Clarke
On March 7, 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in which it questioned the constitutionality of a Maricopa County, Arizona jail policy that requires male pretrial detainees who have not been convicted of a crime to wear pink underwear. The appellate court did ...
