Texas — Jail and Prison Conditions — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

As Climate Changes, High Temperatures Plague Prisons and Jails

“Driven by climate change over the past few decades, the average number of days each year with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees has increased from 5 to 15 in Houston. The Wallace Pack Unit was home to some of the TDCJ’s most elderly prisoners, part of some 13,000 state prisoners who have been deemed medically sensitive to excessive heat. Collier said 8,000 of those prisoners have already been placed in air-conditioned housing, with plans to move the other 5,000 within two years.“

Prison Legal News

October 7, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesOctober 7, 2019Prison Legal News, Texas, Climate ChangeComment

Need a job? Texas prisons have vacancies, pay raises pending

“After a 28% officer turnover rate and 14% vacancy figure raised red flags in late 2017, TDCJ officials implemented a 12% increase in starting pay and poured more than $9 million into $4,000- and $5,000-hiring bonuses at a couple dozen particularly understaffed units. Still, by the end of 2018, turnover soared past 29%, and by April vacancy rates hit nearly 15%.“

Longview News Journal

June 29, 2019

UnderstaffingPhillip ReevesJune 29, 2019Longview News Journal, TexasComment

Texas prison guards to get a small raise, but some doubt it will help with chronic understaffing

“Prison guards start at about $36,000 and receive a maximum of about $43,000 after 7.5 years. As the agency struggles with a 15% vacancy rate of its guard jobs, officers have been required to work mandatory overtime for more than a year at some prisons and often rotate from one prison into more drastically understaffed units for short stints.“

Texas Tribune

June 18, 2019

UnderstaffingPhillip ReevesJune 18, 2019Texas Tribune, TexasComment

Texas Senate passes bill to end the shackling of pregnant women in prison

“Under current law, Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities are prohibited from shackling women during labor and while they are recovering from delivery, but they can still be shackled at any other time. White’s bill would prevent shackling after a woman’s pregnancy is confirmed by a medical professional. While TDCJ already provides women with feminine hygiene products each month, women have reported that the tampons are uncomfortable to use and that they often don’t have enough pads to last through the month. White’s bill would require TDCJ to provide regular or large sized pads with wings and regular or large sized tampons. The bill would also require the department to offer up to 10 free feminine hygiene products to women each day.“

Texas Tribune

May 10, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesMay 10, 2019Texas Tribune, TexasComment

The Death Chamber Next Door

“Serving a prison sentence is difficult in and of itself. The deplorable living conditions, the separation from loved ones, the brutality—you know about all of this. But do you know what it’s like to serve your time at a prison where executions are occurring? That was my reality when I was incarcerated at the Huntsville Unit, where the state of Texas housed the busiest death chamber in the country.“

The Marshall Project

April 25, 2019

Death in Prison, Death RowPhillip ReevesApril 25, 2019The Marshall Project, TexasComment

Inmate with wool allergy moves forward with suit over Texas prison's refusal to give cotton blanket

“A federal court this week sided with an inmate who sued the Texas prison system to get a cotton blanket after repeatedly telling officials he was allergic to the standard-issue bedding, which he alleged is made of "recycled waste" that caused him to have open sores.“

Houston Chronicle

April 4, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesApril 6, 2019Houston Chronicle, Houston, TexasComment

Activists challenge lawmakers to try 3 minutes inside a hot cell in Texas

“The "Beat the Heat" challenge, hosted by Texas Prisons Air-Conditioning Advocates, was held in support of Senate Bill 321 and House Bill 936, which would require the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to maintain temperatures between 65 and 85 degrees within all Texas prison facilities. The “cell,” made out of plywood and heated with lamps and a generator, hovered at a little over 90 degrees on Tuesday. Robert Lilly, who was formerly incarcerated at Texas’ Wallace Unit in Colorado City and now works for Texas Advocates for Justice, said the temperatures inside the mock cell were nowhere near what he faced in prison during the summer months.“

My San Antonio

March 12, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesMarch 12, 2019My San Antonio, TexasComment

Built with rehabilitation in mind, Texas state jails are now viewed by lawmakers as a "complete failure"

“But advocates and lawmakers say the system has failed. Attitudes about criminal justice shifted soon after the system was put in place. The state began using the jails as way stations for inmates convicted of more serious crimes on their way to state prisons. Few rehabilitative services were made available in state jails, and the low-level offenders who went to the facilities have been rearrested at a higher rate than the general prison population.“

Texas Tribune

February 14, 2019

Prison Design, Prison ProgramsPhillip ReevesFebruary 14, 2019Texas Tribune, TexasComment

Incarcerated People Remain Vulnerable to the Worst Ravages of a Warming World

“The problem of rising temperatures amplifies the most pressing issues facing U.S. prisons and jails: chronically tight budgets, aging infrastructure, and the relative invisibility of incarcerated people, a disproportionate number of whom (in Texas, about two-thirds) are black or Latino. In a country that imprisons more of its people—especially racial minorities—than any country on Earth, this will not be an easy problem to untangle. “

PBS

December 5, 2019

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesDecember 5, 2018PBS, TexasComment

The Love Story that Upended the Texas Prison System

“In 1967, a 56-year-old lawyer met a young inmate with a brilliant mind and horrifying stories about life inside. Their complicated alliance—and even more complicated romance—would shed light on a nationwide scandal, disrupt a system of abuse and virtual slavery across the state, and change incarceration in Texas forever.“

Texas Monthly

October 11, 2018

Access to Outside WorldPhillip ReevesOctober 16, 2018Texas Monthly, TexasComment

Texas Prisons Lead the Nation in Long-Term Solitary Confinement

“Yet even as Texas curtails its use of solitary confinement, the state leads the nation in offenders held in long-term isolation. Nearly a third of Texas prisoners held in solitary have been there for six years or longer, according to a new report this week by the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA) and the Liman Center for Public Interest Law at Yale University.“

Texas Observer

October 10, 2018

Solitary ConfinementPhillip ReevesOctober 11, 2018Texas Observer, TexasComment

Texas Prisons Creating Denture Clinic For Toothless Inmates

“The Houston Chronicle reports the change comes after its disclosure that Texas prison inmates without teeth were routinely denied dentures. The newspaper had reported that state prison policy had said chewing isn’t a medical necessity and that inmates could eat pureed food.“

CBS 11 Dallas

October 5, 2018

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesOctober 8, 2018CBS 11 Dallas, Texas, Houston ChronicleComment

Toothless Texas inmates denied dentures in state prison

“In the Texas prison system, toothless and nearly toothless inmates are routinely denied dentures and instead offered blended food — often regular cafeteria meals simply pureed. Sometimes they’re told they can’t get teeth unless they become underweight, at which point dentures might be considered a “medical necessity.” In 2016, prison medical providers approved giving out 71 dentures to a population of more than 149,000 inmates, many of whom are elderly, have a history of drug use or came from impoverished backgrounds with sub-par dental care to begin with.“

Houston Chronicle

September 23, 2018

Jail & Prison ConditionsPhillip ReevesSeptember 23, 2018Houston Chronicle, TexasComment

Insight Denton: Why don’t inmates at least have the option for in-person visitation?

"County officials have maintained that the reason why they ever wanted to include video visitation was to cut down on how often people were using the county’s assets — namely the county buildings and parking lots."

Denton Record Chronicle

September 1, 2018

Access to Outside WorldPhillip ReevesSeptember 4, 2018Denton Record Chronicle, Texas, Denton

Texas spent $7 million to fight against A/C in a prison. It may only cost $4 million to install.

"Since the settlement, the department has also been working to move the most medically vulnerable inmates out of hot prisons across the state — almost 75 percent of Texas prisons and state-run jails don’t have air conditioning in housing areas. Collier said the department has identified about 10,000 inmates who are most at risk for heat sensitivity, and 3,000 were already in air-conditioned beds. Since the settlement, about 700 others have been moved to cooled housing, and the rest still need to be moved."

Texas Tribune

August 29, 2018

Jail & Prison ConditionsAnthony BradleyAugust 31, 2018Texas Tribune, Texas

Texas prison system slashes price of inmate phone calls by 77 percent

"They are making some very, very significant changes that will impact recidivism, rehabilitation and ultimately will increase safe communities in Texas...I'm extremely, extremely proud of them helping us out today."

Houston Chronicle

August 24, 2018

Access to Outside WorldAnthony BradleyAugust 28, 2018Houston Chronicle, Texas

How I Survived Cancer in Prison

"Each day I was not called for medical chain, I grew more anxious. Two weeks later, I requested another appointment. Two more weeks passed before I once again sat on a paper-covered exam table in the prison medical unit. The almost-doctor had no knowledge of my request, he said."

The Marshall Project

July 26, 2018

Jail & Prison ConditionsAnthony BradleyJuly 30, 2018The Marshall Project, Texas, Healthcare

Texas prisons, we’ve got some questions about your commissary vendors

"This time, we looked at the sources of goods rather than spending patterns among incarcerated people, and discovered a couple of surprising findings alongside the usual major vendors."

Prison Policy Initiative

July 26, 2018

Harris County jail inmate in solitary confinement found dead in apparent suicide

"That death came even as the jail was working to drive down its suicide numbers, which were already below the national average. At the same time, the jail has worked to lower its solitary confinement population, slashing the number in half over a five-year period."

Houston Chronicle

July 25, 2018

Heat wave sparks concerns in sweltering Texas prisons

"State prison officials are in emergency-response mode this week as a heat wave bears down on a large swath of Texas, rivaling the system that triggered the deaths of 10 inmates from heat stroke in 2011."

Houston Chronicle

July 22, 2018

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