Tag Archives: Polunsky Unit
The 10 Best Observer Stories of 2016: ‘No Place for Old Men’
Texas prisons are filling up with the old and the ill — at enormous expense.
No Place for Old Men By Dick J. Reavis Published February 15 The state of Texas operates 109 prisons holding about 148,000 inmates. Some 27,000 of them are, l...Read More
No Place for Old Men
Texas prisons are filling up with the old and the ill — at enormous expense.
Texas prisons are filling up with the old and the ill — at enormous expense....Read More
Letters from Death Row: The Biology of Trauma
New studies show that trauma biologically alters the brains of young boys in ways that affect their adult behavior.
Texas executes more of its citizens—almost all of them men—than any other state. New studies show that trauma biologically alters the brains of young boys i...Read More
Letters from Death Row: Faith Behind Bars
An informal Observer survey finds complex religious beliefs among death row inmates.
Solitary confinement forces many inmates to do a lot of soul-seeking, but despite the misconceptions, not all death row inmates turn to religion for solace. In ...Read More
Letters from Death Row: Alone on the Inside
In an informal Observer survey, death row inmates describe a world of extreme isolation, where mental illness is both cause and symptom.
The Observer found that prisoners often choose a life of permanent isolation, refusing to leave their cages. It’s a catch-22: Mental illness can lead inmates ...Read More
Letters from Death Row: Books Behind Bars
As part of an in-depth project for The Texas Observer, I wanted to find out what books inmates on death row read, and what this said—if anything—about their...Read More
Solitary Men
Does prolonged isolation drive death row prisoners insane?
Imagine spending 23 hours a day in a cement enclosure the size of a bathroom. Now imagine sitting in that small room nearly all day, every day without respite, ...Read More
