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Several organizations held an event Saturday in Austin to provide information and resources to people who've been previously incarcerated. The "From Prison to Power" event was hosted by the Statewide Leadership Council, which is a group made up of formerly incarcerated advocates who are now working for meaningful change.
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The event follows a series of community gatherings that have taken place in Texas cities, the most recent being in Dallas. Key organizer for the event and Texas Center for Justice and Equity's Peer Policy Fellow Maggie Luna has all the details.
New research by The Sentencing Project shows a drop in youth crime over the past 20 years, which debunks a so-called "false narrative" of a youth violence movement sweeping the country. Sarah Reyes, policy analyst at the Texas Center for Justice and Equity, said there is little data since the pandemic started, but she suspects the drop in crime, at least in Texas, was an anomaly because kids were isolated due to COVID-19.
On Saturday, July 2, a group of formerly incarcerated and justice system-impacted Texans will convene in Austin. The event, “From Prison to Power: Finding Your Voice After Incarceration,” is organized by the Texas Center for Justice and Equity’s Statewide Leadership Council (SLC) and partners.
Negotiations between Austin officials and the police were breaking down in part over the city’s attempts to increase police accountability in 2018. The city’s citizen review panel disbanded. Finally, that November, the parties reached an agreement, though tensions remained. A new office was created and staffed by civilians rather than police: The Office of Police Oversight.
In Texas, approximately half a million residents can face completely legal housing discrimination due to their criminal records. Texas has the highest incarceration rate of “any other democracy” according to the Prison Policy Initiative. When members of this population of 251,000 are released, they face barriers in finding affordable housing across the state, including the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
“They did the crime,” it has been said, “they do the time.” In this case, “they” are incarcerated or previously incarcerated women, specifically mothers either expecting a baby or with one or more children. And while the mothers have colored outside the lines enough to warrant imprisonment, their children have not.
Attorney Mano DeAyala has secured the Republican nomination to replace retiring state Rep. Jim Murphy (R-Houston) of Texas House District 133. According to unofficial election results from Harris County, DeAyala captured 51 percent of the vote in a runoff contest with long-time GOP activist and precinct chair Shelley Barineau.
This week, the Travis County Commissioners Court will weigh whether to hire a marketing firm for $250,000 to help the Travis County Sheriff’s Office fill current vacancies. That includes 145 corrections officer vacancies, up from only 60 vacancies before the pandemic in May of 2019. Additionally, the jail population has increased by 60 inmates this May compared to that same May of 2019, now up to 2,173.
Incarceration is “uniquely detrimental” to women, particularly if they are mothers, and authorities should consider alternative approaches to punishment for them, says a Texas justice advocacy group. “With a fraction of the money it costs to incarcerate a mother, we can support her with tools to address underlying needs, as well as keep her with her children and in the community –in turn preventing trauma and loss for the entire family unit,” argued the Texas Center for Justice and Equity, in a special report on “Motherhood and Pregnancy Behind Bars.”
