Tag Archives: Prison
When Prison Reform Goes Bad
What happened to the Legislature's two-decade-old attempt to break the cycle of incarceration for low-level felons?
In the early 1990s, the Texas Legislature tried to build something surprisingly progressive amid the state’s tough-on-crime prison boom: an alternative to pri...Read More
Waco Immigrant Mom Sues Private Prison Corporation over Alleged Sexual Abuse
A civil suit calls for Estela Fajardo to be paid between $200,000 and $1 million for alleged mistreatment at the Jack Harwell Detention Center.
Estela Fajardo, an immigrant mom and business owner, is suing a private prison corporation and a prison guard over sexual abuse she alleges occurred at Waco’s...Read More
A Houston Art Exhibit Gazes Unflinchingly at the Cruelty of Mass Incarceration
Featuring art from many current and former prisoners, Walls Turned Sideways gives visitors a visceral sense of confinement.
Last month, prisoners across the United States launched a coordinated work strike to protest the widespread use of forced labor, which the strikers described as...Read More
Women in Texas Prisons Denied Same Academic, Job Training Opportunities as Incarcerated Men
"Black holes of inattention" lead to stark gender disparities in the Texas prison system, according to a new report.
A gulf exists between educational opportunities and job certification programs offered to men and women in Texas prisons, according to a new report by the Texas...Read More
Texas Prison System Sheds Men, Swallows Even More Women
Report says rise in incarcerated women hints at disparities in the male-dominated criminal justice system.
More than 10,000 of the 12,500 women in Texas prisons have children waiting for them back home. Not only are incarcerated women much more likely to be parents t...Read More
A Prison By Any Other Name
How Texas created a new for-profit lock-up, which it really doesn't want you to call a "prison."
How Texas created a new for-profit lockup, which it really doesn’t want you to call a “prison.” – by Michael Barajas @michaelsbarajas Fe...Read More
Problems Hide in Plain Sight at Texas’ Youth Lockups
Critics say Texas’ five remaining juvenile prisons not only fail to rehabilitate young people but “actually make them worse.”
It was spring break 2017 at the McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility, and the young inmates were more restless than normal. Some of the teens ro...Read More
‘Another Book, Another Month, Another Day Closer to You’
The Women’s Storybook Project of Texas is an Austin nonprofit that encourages incarcerated mothers to read to their children.
The Women’s Storybook Project of Texas is an Austin nonprofit that encourages incarcerated mothers to read to their children....Read More
At SXSW, ‘The Work’ Builds Case for Prison Program That Breaks Inmates Down
"The Work" raises important questions about masculinity and violence, but the film’s ties to a controversial men’s movement cloud the picture....Read More