Tag Archives: private prisons
‘The Penal System Today is Slavery’: Lawmakers Finally Start to Talk About Unpaid Labor in Texas Prisons
The 13th Amendment left a loophole for prisoners to be forced to work without pay. Texas remains one of five states that exploits the carveout for state profit.
Inmates in Texas make license plates, grow crops, tend to cattle, make soap and clothing, refurbish buses and computers, build furniture and more. They’re req...Read More
Deal Finalized to Revive Notorious 1,000-Bed South Texas Immigrant Detention Facility
Willacy County officials have yet to release the details of the deal, which comes less than two years after the county sued the same company over mismanagement of the facility.
On Wednesday, private prison company MTC announced it had finalized a deal to revive the notorious immigrant detention facility once known as “Ritmo,” in th...Read More
‘Recipe for Disaster’: New Family Detention Center Could Open in South Texas
The proposed facility — a shuttered nursing home in San Diego, Texas — would be run by a British private prison company with a history of alleged abuses in Australia and England.
Trump’s desire to jail thousands of immigrant families for months at a time has rekindled an economic romance between a tiny South Texas county and a British ...Read More
Could Private Prison Cash Become a Liability for Texas Democrats?
Two candidates in a San Antonio special election are beefing over contributions from a private prison firm linked to Trump’s family separations.
Trump’s family separations scandal has reared its head in the San Antonio race to replace disgraced former state Senator Carlos Uresti. On Tuesday, Democratic...Read More
Lawyers Seek to Reform ‘Ethical Minefield’ of Public Defender’s Office Controlled by Texas Prison System
Former public defenders say prison officials who had a hand in prosecuting their clients influenced and sometimes outright interfered with their defense work.
Last week, David O’Neil stood before the Texas Board of Criminal Justice with an awkward request: He asked nine governor-appointed board members to relinquish...Read More
Mother Jones’ Shane Bauer Wins 2017 MOLLY National Journalism Prize
One judge said, “This isn’t a story. It’s a saga — tough, graphic reporting that shows how privately operated prisons function.”
One judge said, “This isn’t a story. It’s a saga — tough, graphic reporting that shows how privately operated prisons function.”...Read More
Legislature Plans to Close Four Correctional Facilities. Will They Become Immigrant Detention Centers?
Many see the closures as a step in the right direction, but some advocates worry what the empty prisons could mean for immigrant detention.
Lawmakers, agency heads and policy advocates alike see this as a “step in the right direction,” but some worry what empty prisons could mean for immigrant d...Read More
Bill to License ‘Baby Jails’ as Child Care Facilities Clears First Legislative Hurdle
Senate Bill 1018 would allow prison firms to skip all the burdensome regulations that other child care facilities must deal with.
The private prison companies that run detention centers for immigrant kids and their mothers have a problem: They can’t legally hold families for an extended ...Read More
State of Texas: The Private Prison Bubble Bursts
Federal agencies have said they'll "phase out" some private prison contracts and "review" others. Here's how the numbers shake out in prison-thick Texas....Read More