One-size-fits-all justice systems fail lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people, who experience worse outcomes and are over-represented in every part of the justice system, according to a new study released by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.

Read the rest of this post at The Crime Report. 

After discovering the convict cemetery in March, the city appointed a panel of stakeholders. Now it’s ignoring their recommendation.

Read the rest of this article at Texas Monthly. 

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.

Harris County officials failed to retain an unknown number of emails over a one-year period that could be pertinent in the hotly contested lawsuit over its bail practices, according to documents made public Monday.

Read the rest of this article at the Houston Chronicle. 

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. 

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.

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.

Still reeling from two recent inmate suicides, the Harris County jail on Monday launched a crisis hotline for prisoners, a novel approach to mental health that’s believed to be one of the first such efforts in the country.

Read the rest of this article at the Houston Chronicle. 

Republicans and Democrats alike are increasingly in favor of overhauling the criminal justice system. That’s partly because incarceration is expensive.

Read the rest of this article - and listen to an interivew with TCJC's Doug Smith - at the Texas Standard. 

Travis County moves forward with new women's building despite vote to delay and community outcry.

Read the rest of this article at the Austin Chronicle.