Here’s What It’s Like to Work at a Shelter for Immigrant Kids by Kavitha Surana, Robert Faturechi Some facilities are so overstretched; employees often wait hours for a break to go to the bathroom by Kavitha Surana and Robert Faturechi, ProPublica BROWNSVILLE, Texas — The employees were in the ninth hour …
Texas Prisons Stop Using Solitary Confinement as Punishment, but Thousands Kept in Administrative Segregation by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On September 1, 2017 the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) changed its policy on prisoner discipline to eliminate solitary confinement as a punishment for violating institutional rules, though thousands …
Fifth Circuit Holds Denial of Diabetic Diet During Lockdowns States Claim by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On January 29, 2018, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held a diabetic prisoner’s allegation that he was denied a medical diet and required to repeatedly eat high-sugar meals during prison lockdowns stated …
State Criminal Justice Reform Efforts Gaining Traction by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis On the federal level, hopes for criminal justice reform have fallen victim to partisan bickering in Congress and a lack of substantive interest from the White House. Fortunately, state officials are not waiting around, and state-level reform …
$10,000 Federal Jury Award in Texas Prisoner’s Suit Over Retaliatory Beatings by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On June 22, 2017, a federal jury awarded $10,000 to a prisoner against six Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) guards for beating him and issuing false disciplinary reports in retaliation for grievances …
Litigation Heats Up Over Extreme Temperatures in Prisons, Jails by Matthew Clarke, Christopher Zoukis by Matt Clarke and Christopher Zoukis During a heat wave in the summer of 2017, dozens of protesters gathered outside the Medium Security Institution in St. Louis, Missouri and chanted “shut it down,” after a video …
Doctors giving kids psychotropic drugs lost certification by Aura Bogado By Aura Bogado / Reveal, from The Center for Investigative Reporting The psychiatrist who has been prescribing powerful psychotropic medications to immigrant children at a federally funded residential treatment center in Texas has practiced without board certification to treat children and adolescents for …
Atomanczyk v. Texas Department of Criminal Justice, et al., TX, opinion and order, compensatory damages, religious infringement, 2018 Case 4:17-cv-00719 Document 70 Filed in TXSD on 06/26/18 Page 1 of 13 United States District Court Southern District of Texas ENTERED June 26, 2018 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR …
Dept. of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General - ICE's Inspections and Monitoring of Detention Facilities Do Not Lead to Sustained Compliance or Systemic Improvements, 2018 ICE’s Inspections and Monitoring of Detention Facilities Do Not Lead to Sustained Compliance or Systemic Improvements June 26, 2018 OIG-18-67 DHS OIG HIGHLIGHTS ICE’s …
Daughter of Texas Prisoner Who Died from Asthma Attack Receives Settlement by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis C.P., the minor daughter of a Texas prisoner who died after suffering an asthma attack while in prison, agreed to a settlement with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and a prison …
Adolescent Texas Prisoners Moving To Different Prison by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon Some youthful offenders in Texas will soon be moved to a former death row wing in the Ellis Unit in Huntsville. Children ages 14 to 17 who are certified as adults, tried and sentenced to prison for …
Texas Prisoners Receive Inadequate Legal Representation from State Agency by Edward Lyon by Ed Lyon In December 2017, a Texas State Bar committee issued a scathing report concerning the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), which oversees the State Counsel for Offenders (SCO) – an agency that provides legal representation …
Texas Prisoner in Administrative Segregation Transition Program Murders Cellmate by On January 17, 2018, a Texas state prisoner who was participating in the Administrative Segregation Transition Program (ASTP) at the Ramsey Unit murdered his cellmate. It was the first prisoner-on-prisoner homicide in Texas this year. Alfred Brosig, 48, who was …
Transgender Prisoner Issues Result in Litigation, Policy Changes by In two recent settlements, corrections officials were forced to pay for their failure to honor the chosen gender identity of transgender prisoners and where they were housed. But in a third case, a court’s refusal to second-guess a housing decision by …
Financial Processes at the Department of Criminal Justice, State of Texas, 2018 An Audit Report on Financial Processes at the Department of Criminal Justice June 2018 Report No. 18-035 State Auditor’s Office reports are available on the Internet at http://www.sao.texas.gov/. An Audit Report on Financial Processes at the Department of …
Vera Institute of Justice--The New Dynamics of Mass Incarceration Report, 2018 The New Dynamics of Mass Incarceration Jacob Kang-Brown, Oliver Hinds, Jasmine Heiss, and Olive Lu June 2018 From The Director The turn of the century marked a new direction for the nation’s prisons and jails: after three decades of …
Texas Jail Administrator Receives $115,000 Settlement for Wrongful Termination by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis A 46-year-old county jail administrator agreed to a $115,000 settlement with Gray County, Texas, after her employment was ended because of a prolonged medical absence. Shelly McCarn had been employed with Gray County for …
Prisoner Awarded $25,000 Against Texas Guard Who Facilitated Assault by Christopher Zoukis by Christopher Zoukis A federal jury in Texas found that a prison guard was negligent in aiding and abetting an assault on a prisoner, awarding the victim $25,000 in damages. While David K. Lara was a prisoner …
In the Eye of the Storm: When Hurricanes Impact Prisons and Jails by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Hurricanes and other major storms represent a significant threat to prisoners. Prisons and jails are often built on poorly-drained land located in flood plains or other environmentally-sensitive areas. Although meteorologists usually warn …
