In Texas State Jails, a Rising Death Toll and a Broken Promise
Once billed as rehabilitative alternatives to prisons, these facilities are the sites of fatal overdoses—like that which ended the life of a Texan named Jackie Wiley.
TDCJ
Solidarity from Solitary and Beyond
Texans are organizing inside and outside of prisons to empower incarcerated workers, who labor in dangerous conditions without pay.
Junk Science, ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome,’ and the Fate of Robert Roberson
An East Texas man could soon become the nation's first person killed by the state based on the controversial hypothesis.
Waiting Out the Storm in Prison
Incarcerated Texans describe conditions in prison following Hurricane Beryl.
Texas Plans to Execute Man After Courts Refuse DNA Tests
Ruben Gutierrez was convicted of murder in 1999 under Texas’ “Law of Parties.” He says he had nothing to do with the killing.
Texas’ Plantation Prisons: Inside a 200-Year History of Forced Labor Shrouded in Secrecy
Punishments, injuries, and deaths—including from heat—on TDCJ farms are more hidden than they were in the years following convict leasing.
Taking Prison to Court: Fighting for the Right to Sleep
Michael Garrett sued the Texas Department of Criminal Justice more than a decade ago, and he’s working from inside to keep the case alive.
Get the newsletter
Finding God, Asking State to Find Mercy on Death Row
Ramiro Gonzales will be put to death next Wednesday, unless the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles recommends clemency.
Powerful Words from Texans Trapped in Solitary Confinement
Texas disappears more people in long-term solitary cells than all other states and the federal system combined.
‘There Have to Be Limits’: Lawsuit Urges Scorching Prisons to Cool Down
New plaintiffs have expanded a 2023 lawsuit against TDCJ, accusing the agency of “cooking [prisoners] to death."