Press Contact: For all media inquiries, please contact Madison Kaigh, Communications Manager, at mkaigh@TexasCJE.orgor (512) 441-8123, ext. 108.
Early morning on Christmas Day, a car pulls up outside the Midland County Detention Center and a deputy gets out. He hefts his backpack onto his shoulder and shakes himself as he walks toward the jail employee entrance on West Industrial Avenue.
Have you ever attempted suicide? Are you thinking of killing or injuring yourself today?
In the aftermath of Sandra Bland's death in the Waller County jail, Texas is now discussing suicide prevention in local jails.
Criminal Justice Committee Chair Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, has sent a strong signal now that he wants to review state drug sentencing guidelines during the 85th session of the Texas Legislature.
Until recently, progressives have largely embraced the involvement of the billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch in the push for criminal justice reform, including changes in mandatory minimum sentencing laws.
This month, Fort Hood – one of the largest military installations in the world – and federal prosecutors are piloting a veterans’ treatment court.
In an unincorporated section of Fort Bend County, just north of Sugar Land, minors now face a curfew - a tool that some criminal justice reform advocates say harms youth rather than helps address underlying problems.
Over the past five years, Hispanic motorists stopped by Texas Department of Public Safety troopers were 33 percent more likely to be searched than white drivers. Yet those inspections were less likely to result in the discovery of drugs, weapons or illegal currency than the searches performed on white drivers.
The Fort Bend County sheriff is pushing back against criticism of his agency following two reported jail suicides this fall, including a state report citing the jail for violating minimum standards.
Jacqueline Aguilar’s 26-year-old brother, Jose Aguilar, had spent nearly nine months in solitary confinement at the Ferguson Unit when he hanged himself in February 2014.
