TCJC Blog

Women’s Justice Town Hall Focused on Dignity Reform in Texas

On Saturday, July 19, TCJC and the ACLU of Texas hosted a town hall at the Texas Capitol. It was one of 26 simultaneous town halls across the country – all part of The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls’ national convening, which brought together women impacted by the criminal justice system and leaders committed to engaging in gender-responsive reform efforts.

At our town hall, we talked... Read more >

TCJC Launches “One Size FAILS All” Report Series

I remember my time on probation in 2007. When the prosecutor offered a plea agreement for 10 years deferred adjudication, I felt as though my life had been handed back to me. Ten months earlier, I had been arrested for handing a note to a bank teller asking for $500, driven by my desperation to feed a drug addiction. At that point, I assumed that I would not breathe free air again until I was... Read more >

Texas Criminal Justice Coalition Joins the Discussion for Art in Justice Reform

The Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC), the Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts, and the California Lawyers for the Arts invited TCJC to participate in their Texas Art for Justice Forum on July 14 at the HMAAC. The forum was part of a series of events designed to discuss and expand the role that art programs and the arts community can play in addressing... Read more >

Moving the Needle on Women’s Justice

When TCJC launched our Justice for Women campaign in March, we never expected this much momentum! In the past four months, we’ve accomplished a lot.

We released two full-length reports and a “quick guide” on the challenges facing women in Texas’ criminal justice system:

• A Growing Population: The Surge of Women into Texas’ Criminal Justice System: This report explores the concerning increase in the number of justice system-involved women in Texas, and it
... Read more >

TCJC Launches the “Justice for Women” Campaign

My mother is a survivor of domestic abuse and sexual assault. Her method of coping with the trauma she experienced was to never stop moving. Literally. When I was growing up, we moved over and over again—14 times during my high school years alone. If, instead, her method of coping had been to self-medicate with alcohol or drugs, there is no doubt in my mind that she would be in prison.

Very little separates my... Read more >

Join Our Team!

Are you ready to help transform Texas’ youth and criminal justice systems?
Do you have first-hand experience that could inform our work and advance our mission? 
If so, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition could be the place for you!

If you haven’t heard, we’ve opened our search for a Communications Manager!  We want to help change the narrative about what real public safety should mean for... Read more >

Formerly Incarcerated Woman Speaks on Behalf of More Than 12,000 Incarcerated Women at the Austin Women’s March

Over the weekend, thousands of people took to the streets of Austin for the 2018 Women’s March. One of those marching was Lauren Johnson. Lauren is many things. Among them, she is a mother, an advocate, and a formerly incarcerated woman.

On very short notice, Lauren agreed to speak at the Austin Women’s March on behalf of the more than 12,000 women currently incarcerated in Texas. Because those women could not be there to march... Read more >

Texans are Battling Addiction – Let’s Help Them Win the Fight

Texas was recently awarded $27.4 million from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to combat opioid use disorders. The funding is absolutely critical to expanding treatment capacity in Texas. For low-income people in need of detox or treatment in Texas, they are likely to wait nearly five weeks for opioid therapy services – a period of time when they are at grave risk of overdose. The new funding will create new capacity to... Read more >