Despite Budget Crunch, Texas Rarely Grants Medical Paroles by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Faced with a $23 billion shortfall in its 2011-2012 budget, Texas officials nevertheless have refused to take advantage of a potential money-saver: paroling state prisoners who are elderly, infirm or terminally ill, who pose little threat …
Dobbs v. Farrell, TX, Complaint, Roadside Body Cavity Search, 2012 Case 3:12-cv-05141-L Document 1 Filed 12/17/12 Page 1 of 14 PageID 1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS DALLAS DIVISION ANGEL DOBBS and ASHLEY DOBBS, Plaintiffs VS. DAVID FARRELL, KELLEY HELLESON and STEVEN McCRAW Defendants. § …
Texas Slashes Prison Education Budget by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke Faced with a $23 billion biennial state budget deficit, the Texas legislature has radically cut education programs in state prisons. Such short-term savings will undoubtedly result in long-term expenses, as education has been proven to reduce recidivism. Jorge Renaud, …
Texas Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Prohibiting Sex Offender Parole Conditions; Case Settles for $52,000 by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On October 7, 2011, a U.S. District Court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (Board) from enforcing onerous sex offender conditions that had …
Fifth Circuit Holds Mailbox Rule Applies to Legal Mail Rejected Under Bogus Prison Rule by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that legal mail rejected by prison officials under a purported rule that does not exist is still entitled to the “mailbox rule.” Clifford Medley, a Texas state …
Fifth Circuit Upholds Former Texas State Judge’s Bribery-Related Convictions by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of a former Texas state judge on two counts of wire fraud and one count of making false statements related to bribes he received while in office. After he was elected …
Prison Legal News v. Sheriff Betterton & Upshur County, TX, Amended Complaint 2012 Case 2:12-cv-00699-JRG Document 5 Filed 11/26/12 Page 1 of 8 PageID #: 109 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS MARSHALL DIVISION PRISON LEGAL NEWS, PLAINTIFF v. ANTHONY BETTERTON, individually and in his official capacity as …
State Auditor Finds Flaws in Texas Criminal Justice Information System by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In September 2011, the Texas State Auditor released a report on the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) used by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The …
Prison Legal News v. Betterton, TX, Complaint, Censorship, 2012 Case 2:12-cv-00699-JRG Document 1 Filed 11/01/12 Page 1 of 8 PageID #: 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS MARSHALL DIVISION PRISON LEGAL NEWS, PLAINTIFF v. ANTHONY BETTERTON, individually and in his official capacity as Sheriff of Upshur County; …
Prison Legal News v. Sheriff Betterton & Upshur County, TX, Complaint 2012 Case 2:12-cv-00699-JRG Document 1 Filed 11/01/12 Page 1 of 8 PageID #: 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS MARSHALL DIVISION PRISON LEGAL NEWS, PLAINTIFF v. ANTHONY BETTERTON, individually and in his official capacity as Sheriff …
Prison Legal News v. Betterton, TX, Complaint, mail censorship, 2012 Case 2:12-cv-00699-JRG Document 1 Filed 11/01/12 Page 1 of 8 PageID #: 1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS MARSHALL DIVISION PRISON LEGAL NEWS, PLAINTIFF v. ANTHONY BETTERTON, individually and in his official capacity as Sheriff of Upshur …
Texas Abolishes Last Meals for Death Row Prisoners, Reduces Weekend Meals by Matthew Clarke Texas served its final last meal to condemned prisoner Lawrence Russell Brewer, who, on September 21, 2011, was executed for the infamous racially-motivated 1998 dragging death of James Byrd, Jr. Brewer requested an extensive last meal …
UTMB Challenges Texas State Audit, while Legislature Imposes $100 Prisoner Health Care Co-Pay by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB) has challenged the findings of a state audit of the prisoner health care services it provides. The challenged audit reported that UTMB …
Texas Compensates Exonerees Unequally by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke A succession of laws, cumulating in the most generous compensation package for wrongly convicted prisoners in the nation, has left Texas exonerees stuck at different levels of compensation depending on when they were proven innocent. Consequently, some earlier exonerees now …
Texas Court Orders TDCJ to Provide Hearing Impaired Telecommunications by On April 5, 2011, a Texas state court issued a temporary injunction ordering the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to provide telecommunications to hearing impaired prisoners using the Texas Relay Service (TRS). Leslie Arrington, Janet Lock, Kathy Williams and …
Texas: Helping HIV+ Prisoners Receive Post-Release Meds by by Matt Clarke When Diana Harris was released from a Texas prison more than a decade ago, she received no information on how to continue her regimen of HIV medication. The prison issued her a 10-day supply of meds and when that …
Texas Legislator Uses Prisoner-Made Goods as Gifts for Campaign Contributors by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke When Republican Texas State Representative Debbie Riddle scheduled her “Riddle Executive Leadership Summit” at the Lanier Theological Library in August 2011, the agenda mentioned several “esteemed discussion leaders,” a buffet reception and special gifts …
Texas Teenager Killed at Private Juvenile Detention Center by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke On October 10, 2011, 14-year-old Jordan Adams was found unconscious on the floor of his isolation cell at the Granbury Regional Juvenile Justice Center (GRJJC) in Granbury, Texas. A sheet was wrapped around his neck. He …
Texas Gang Member Lockdown Without Hearing Upheld by The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld summary Judgment to prison officials on a Texas prisoner's involuntary administrative segregation claims. In March 2002, Texas prison officials learned that rival Hispanic gangs the Texas Syndicate (TS) and Raza Unida (RU), were planning a …
Texas Prison System Increases Prisoners’ Monthly Phone Minutes by Matthew Clarke by Matt Clarke In 2007, when Texas became the last state in the nation to let prisoners make phone calls on a regular basis, the limit on phone usage was 120 minutes a month. [See: PLN, Nov. 2007, p.11]. …
