TCJE in the News

Press Contact: For all media inquiries, please contact Madison Kaigh, Communications Manager, at mkaigh@TexasCJE.orgor (512) 441-8123, ext. 108.

 

New Report Finds LGBTQ People are Often Unseen but Frequently Incarcerated

New Report Finds LGBTQ People are Often Unseen but Frequently Incarcerated

The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition released the third report in its “One Size FAILS All” report series. The report, Out of Sight: LGBTQ Youth and Adults in Texas Justice Systems, explores how the Lone Star State often fails to adequately address the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) Texans, and instead frequently moves them into the youth and adult justice systems at higher rates than people in the non-LGBTQ community.

Read the rest of this press release here.

Advocates Seek to Open 24-Hour Opioid Drop-In Center

Advocates Seek to Open 24-Hour Opioid Drop-In Center

According to the Travis County Plan for Substance Use Disorders, there are more than 85,000 youth and adults who abuse alcohol or illicit drugs every year in the county.

Read the rest of this article at Spectrum News Austin. 

How ‘End Mass Incarceration’ Became a Slogan for D.A. Candidates

How ‘End Mass Incarceration’ Became a Slogan for D.A. Candidates

The Dallas County district attorney, Faith Johnson, often reminds voters that she recently won a rare murder conviction against a white police officer who shot into a car full of teenagers, killing a black 15-year-old boy.

Read the rest of this article from the New York Times.

2 Harris County judges responsible for 1 in 5 children sent to state juvenile prisons

2 Harris County judges responsible for 1 in 5 children sent to state juvenile prisons

Two Harris County judges accounted for more than one-fifth of all children sent to the state’s juvenile prisons last year, driving up the county’s Texas Juvenile Justice Department commitments even as those figures fall in the rest of the state.

Read the rest of this article at the Houston Chronicle. 

Marijuana diversion works, but it’s not enough [Opinion]

Marijuana diversion works, but it’s not enough [Opinion]

Two years ago, Kim Ogg was elected district attorney of Harris County. One of her campaign promises was to implement a diversion program for first time offenders charged with low-level marijuana possession. These are cases where a person gets arrested for “two ounces or less” of marijuana.

Read the rest of this op-ed at the Houston Chronicle. 

Texas Jail System ‘Defective’ Says Report

Texas Jail System ‘Defective’ Says Report

The flaws in the state's justice system cycle thousands of people through jails with little effort to address the roots of their behavior, says the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. 

Read the rest of this post at The Crime Report.

A Failure in the Fourth Degree: Reforming the State Jail Felony System in Texas

A Failure in the Fourth Degree: Reforming the State Jail Felony System in Texas

The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition released the second report in its “One Size FAILS All” report series. The report, A Failure in the Fourth Degree: Reforming the State Jail Felony System in Texas, demonstrates through data and personal interviews with 140 incarcerated individuals the defective nature of Texas’ state jail system, and it puts forth actionable policy recommendations for consideration by the 2019 Texas Legislature.

Read the rest of this press release here.

Cash Bail Yields a New Casualty

Cash Bail Yields a New Casualty

On July 21, Debora Ann Lyons walked into a Walmart in Houston and headed to the deli counter. There, she stuffed food into a beach bag and proceeded to the self-checkout register. But she did not pay for the items; instead, she walked to a nearby McDonald’s and ate them. When she was finished, she placed food scraps back into her beach bag and then returned to the Walmart.

Read the rest of this article from the Appeal.

Huntsville prisoner allegedly killed by guard was handcuffed during deadly use-of-force

Huntsville prisoner allegedly killed by guard was handcuffed during deadly use-of-force

The Texas prisoner allegedly killed by a guard earlier this year was handcuffed during the August use-of-force incident in a Huntsville prison that led to his death, state records show.

Read the rest of this article at the Houston Chronicle. 

More toothless Texas inmates to get dentures, not just pureed food

More toothless Texas inmates to get dentures, not just pureed food

The Texas prison system is changing its denture policy — creating a dedicated denture clinic and hiring a prosthodontic specialist — in an effort to ensure that more inmates get teeth.

Read the rest of this article at the Houston Chronicle.