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The Latest Breaking News from TDCJ

Prison Journalist Shows Why We Need a Free Press—Even Behind Bars

Jason Walker has been reporting from inside his cell at great risk to his personal safety.

Texas Observer

Texas House budgets $545 million for prison air conditioning. The Senate hasn’t offered anything.

Sweltering heat has killed inmates, driven away prison workers and cost taxpayers millions in lawsuits. The House budget would provide air conditioning for 46 prisons, but it’s unclear if the Senate will sign on.

The Texas Tribune

Advocates say 22 Texas inmates still on hunger strike but state disputes figure

Solitary confinement inmates protest against brutal form of incarceration but state says it’s only aware of six striking men

The Guardian - US

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Mapping the Legacy of Prison Hunger Strikes in Texas

"I'm willing to die for the cause, because I can't live."

Texas Observer

Texas executes Wesley Ruiz despite ongoing fight over state’s use of old lethal injection drugs

Ruiz was convicted in the 2007 shooting death of Dallas police Senior Cpl. Mark Nix after a high-speed chase.

The Texas Tribune

“We are humans back here”: As Texas hunger strike wanes, prisoners speak out against solitary confinement

After 21 days, the last of many Texas prisoners to consistently refuse food ended his hunger strike. In letters to The Texas Tribune, two prisoners spoke out on the dire solitary confinement conditions that led them to starve themselves.

The Texas Tribune

Texas death row inmates sue over solitary confinement

A group of Texas death row inmates have filed a federal lawsuit against the state’s prison system over its policy of mandatory and indefinite solitary confinement for all prisoners who are awaiting execution

The Independent UK

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Texas death row prisoners spend decades in solitary confinement. A lawsuit wants to end that “cruel” treatment.

Men sentenced to death in Texas are held in isolation until their execution dates, with little human contact, medical care or legal help, according to a lawsuit filed to improve treatment of the condemned.

The Texas Tribune

After 10 days, dozens of Texas prisoners remain on hunger strike protesting solitary confinement practices

Although the number of men refusing food has steadily declined, 38 are still starving themselves to protest Texas policies that often keep prisoners in isolation for years or even decades.

The Texas Tribune

More than 70 Texas prisoners are 3 days into a hunger strike protesting harsh solitary confinement practices

Prisoners have refused food to protest practices that have kept more than 500 people in isolation for more than a decade.

The Texas Tribune

Texas executes Robert Fratta after high courts reject challenges to expired lethal injection drugs

Fratta was convicted in the 1994 murder-for-hire of his wife. Lawyers unsuccessfully challenged Texas’ routine of extending the expiration dates of its lethal drugs, a practice begun when many pharmacies began refusing to provide doses for executions.

The Texas Tribune

Texas prisoners launching hunger strike to protest state’s harsh solitary confinement practices

Hundreds of prisoners may participate in the protest beginning Tuesday, the first day of the state’s legislative session. Texas often keeps prisoners in solitary confinement for years or decades.

The Texas Tribune

Inmates allege Texas to use unsafe drugs for executions

Three Texas death row inmates allege that the state’s prison system plans to use expired and unsafe drugs to carry out their executions early this year

The Independent UK

Chronically understaffed Texas prisons set stage for prison bus escape and massacre of family

Investigative reviews by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and independent consultants found the severely short-staffed prison routinely bypassed crucial security checks, leading to a convicted murderer’s escape.

The Texas Tribune

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The Independent UK

Reports: Many security lapses led to Texas inmate's escape

Two reviews of the May escape of a Texas inmate that resulted in the deaths of five people found a multitude of security lapses such as inadequate strip searches and poorly applied restraints helped lead to his getaway

The Texas Tribune

Prison contractor MTC accused of billing Texas millions for inmate treatment programs it didn’t provide

Before being released on parole, most Texas prisoners must complete treatment programs like life skills or addiction therapy. Private prison operator Management & Training Corporation allegedly stopped providing the services, but kept taking the money.

Texas Observer

Course Corrections: The Return of Prison Education

Federal grants are rebooting higher education behind bars, but the benefits aren't evenly distributed to all of the incarcerated.

The Texas Tribune

Texas diverts $359.6 million from prisons to keep Greg Abbott’s border mission operating

The latest infusion was among $874.6 million in “emergency” budget transfers requested by the Texas Legislative Budget Board, which is composed of GOP state leaders and budget writers.

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The Texas Tribune

“It’s a living hell”: Scorching heat in Texas prisons revives air-conditioning debate

Texas heat has killed prisoners and cost the state millions in wrongful death and civil rights lawsuits. Prison rights advocates hope a budget surplus next year will finally push lawmakers to invest in air conditioning.

Reason

"So No Damages for Past Injury, Due to Immunity—and no Injunction to Stop Future Injury, Due to Mootness"

An interesting concurrence by Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho.

Tribune News Service

Escaped Texas inmate dead after being linked to 5 slayings, authorities say

Officials in Central Texas said late Thursday that an escaped inmate serving a life sentence for murder was dead.

Daily Mirror

Four children and an adult found dead in home near to where prisoner escaped

Convicted murderer Gonzalo Lopez has been shot dead police believe he may be linked to the deaths of four children and an adult at a home near to where he escaped

Tribune News Service

Escaped Texas prisoner suspected of killing 2 adults, 3 children

FORT WORTH, Texas — The man who authorities said escaped law enforcement custody May 12 by stabbing a bus driver after getting out of his shackles is now suspected of murdering five people, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice announced.

The Independent UK

Convicted killer on the run in Texas after stabbing guard and escaping during prison transfer

A huge manhunt is now underway to find Gonzalo Lopez, a 46-year-old convicted of capital murder

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