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The Latest Breaking News from TDCJ

Inmates are dying in stifling Texas prisons, but the state seldom acknowledges heat as a cause of death

Since a heat wave gripped Texas, at least nine inmates, including two men in their 30s, have died of heart attacks or unknown causes in prisons lacking air conditioning. It’s been 11 years since the state last classified a death as heat-related.

The Texas Tribune

Solitary confinement is still widespread in US prisons and jails

The United States locks people in isolation even though it causes severe psychological damage that can last a lifetime.

Al Jazeera

Life with Parole

Probation and parole systems remain understaffed and buggy in Texas, causing people to fall through the cracks and land in prison.

Texas Observer

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Facing youth prison crisis, Texas lawmakers opt to build new facilities and funnel more kids to adult system

For more than a decade, Texas has been trying to slim down its youth prison system, which has been plagued by years of abuse scandals. This Legislature is reversing that course.

The Texas Tribune

Despite budget surplus, Texas Legislature makes little money available for prison air conditioning

Stifling heat has killed inmates and exacerbated employee turnover in Texas prisons. But funding for air conditioning was whittled down in the draft budget released Thursday.

The Texas Tribune

“A way to throw kids away”: Texas’ troubled juvenile justice department is sending more children to adult prisons

Moving the most violent and troubled youths to adult prison makes it easier to help others in juvenile facilities, some prosecutors and lawmakers say. Youth justice advocates say Texas is giving up on the children who most need help.

The Texas Tribune

Texas imprisoned Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. when he was 11, purportedly for his own good. Five years later, he returned home in a casket.

“They didn’t try to fix the brokenness,” his mother says. “They just broke him more.”

The Texas Tribune

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Seven Texas prison employees face dismissal over 16-year-old inmate’s suicide

Joshua Keith Beasley Jr. had been transferred from a Texas youth facility to an adult prison despite a long history of suicidal behavior. Five guards and two supervisors allegedly failed to check on him.

The Texas Tribune

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

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

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The Independent UK

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 Texas Tribune

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.

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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 Independent UK

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 Texas Tribune

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 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.

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