The Blog

The scene at a South Dallas apartment last month was shocking: a 14-year-old girl in bright pink pants, a blue top — and handcuffs — being hustled into a police car, after allegedly drowning a 2-month-old baby. Today, the girl, who is not being named because of her age, wears a shapeless navy uniform and tan shower shoes. The honors student attends classes at the austere Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center, where she sleeps on a thin mattress in a spartan cell. And she waits. Dallas County officials must eventually decide whether to treat her as a kid, a criminal or something in between. Prosecutors will ask a juvenile judge to transfer her to the adult system in a hearing where her attorney will argue to keep her in the juvenile system. Despite a murder charge, the decision is not simple. The approach to young offenders has shifted dramatically over … Read More

A mere decade and a half into the new millennium, state lawmakers appear to be grasping a basic tenet of facilitating employment: If you want all your citizens to have jobs, maybe don’t prevent them from getting jobs. Texas law requires occupational licenses for more than 500 trades ranging from athletic trainer to funeral director, a sprawling bureaucracy that affects almost one-third of the state workforce. While merely a hassle for some, licensing regulations can pose an insurmountable barrier to employment for the 4.7 million Texans who have criminal records. People convicted of any felony or of a misdemeanor involving “moral turpitude”—a scary-sounding category that encompasses crimes as minor as writing a bad check—are statutorily barred by many licensing bodies, usually without regard for how long ago the offense happened or whether it was related to the job in question. (Naturally there are a few weird exceptions. If convicted of an … Read More

AUSTIN – Jailhouse visits are among the latest casualties of the digital age, with conversations squeezed through metal grates or thick plastic dividers replaced by Skype-like computer calls. Some are now revolting against the technology, calling it a poor substitute for human contact. It makes prisoners more prone to disciplinary problems, research shows, and more likely to re-offend. “In-person visitation is an important part of making sure incarcerated individuals can transition back into normal lives,” said state Rep. Eric Johnson, D-Dallas, who wants to stop communities from subbing in-person visits for digital ones. Johnson’s proposal to preserve the option of face-to-face contact would affect the 10 counties that have eliminated in-person visits with jailed prisoners and prevent others from adopting video-only visitation. Read the rest of this article at Palestine Herald-Press.  

By John Austin | CNHI State Reporter AUSTIN – Thanks to the Internet, it’s never been easier to search for a job. Landing an interview – let alone an offer – is harder than ever for applicants with criminal records since the Internet also puts those at employers’ fingertips. Job-seekers with checkered pasts, facing automatic disqualification, “don’t even have a chance,” said Josh Gravens, chairman of state chapter of Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants. A lawmaker from Dallas says making it easier to find work for ex-cons and others with criminal backgrounds will reduce the chances they’ll get in trouble again and boost the state economy. Rep. Eric Johnson, a Democrat, wants government employers to wait until they’ve interviewed applicants before asking if the job-seeker has a criminal history. Private sector employers – or government jobs requiring contact with children – aren’t affected. Johnson submitted a separate bill to … Read More

Have you recovered from the whirlwind November midterm elections? Good. Because the 2015 legislative session starts in a mere matter of days, and with our newly elected governor and lieutenant governor, and a solidly Republican Texas Legislature, expect nothing less than a proverbial shit show of meaty red legislation and epic debates. Despite the decades-long Republican stronghold on the Capitol, bills such as the ones we’ve highlighted below proved to be a bit too much, either going nowhere fast or ultimately defeated later in the session. But with unapologetically ultra-conservative legislators, shored up by Lieutenant Governor-elect and Tea Party favorite Dan Patrick and Governor-elect Greg Abbott, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if some of these become law next year. GUNS, GUNS, GUNS After defeating Democrat Wendy Davis in the race for Texas’ top leadership position, Abbott wasted no time announcing he’d sign a bill this legislative session to allow the open … Read More

By Lauren McGaughy Houston Chronicle AUSTIN — In Texas, you have to be 21 to apply for a concealed handgun permit, and, in many cities, 18 to buy an e-cigarette. In the eyes of the criminal justice system, however, you are considered an adult at age 17, a nearly century-old law juvenile justice advocates and law enforcement increasingly agree is out of step with national norms. Texas is one of only nine states with an age of adulthood under 18. The cutoff long has raised the hackles of advocates who say 17-year-olds are not mature enough to be tried, sentenced and incarcerated alongside adults. Now, some agreement is coalescing around the idea of upping the age to 18 as Texas seeks to comply with newly instituted federal standards for jails and prisons. “We support it,” Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia recently said. Four lawmakers already have filed bills ahead of … Read More

A bill filed Monday morning will decriminalize possession of an ounce or less of marijuana in Texas. The bill, numbered H.B. 507, would make knowing or intentional possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a non-criminal offense with a civil penalty of no more than $100. “Our current marijuana policy in Texas just isn’t working,” said Rep. Joe Moody (D, El Paso) the bill’s author. “We need a new approach that allows us to more effectively utilize our limited criminal justice resources. This legislation is a much-needed step in the right direction.” Police are prohibited from arresting a person for possession of an ounce or less. Instead, they will issue a citation that gives a date for an appearance in a justice of the peace (JP) court. The JP court is a low-level court in Texas that typically hears traffic violations, minor juvenile issues and civil small claim matters. … Read More

A Republican state lawmaker is hoping to decriminalize Texas students’ learning experience. Rep. James White’s bill, will decriminalize truancy laws and require schools to find a way to incentivize attendance and student learning. In 2013, school officials, nonprofits, and even the then-Chief Justice for the Texas Supreme Court, worked with state lawmakers to get a bill that banned school resource officers from issuing misdemeanor tickets to students “disrupting class,” signed into law. In 2015, Woodville Republican Rep. James White would like to decriminalize truancy laws that penalize students and their parents for missed school days. “Look, what we need to do is, we need to incentivize and encourage students to get to school, and we need to do it in a less criminal way,” said White. White said, too often, these are children that come from one-parent homes, where their mother or father was holding down more than one job. … Read More

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas has made great progress in the area of criminal justice reform, but there is still a long way to go. That was the consensus message from a panel discussion earlier last month at the University of Texas at Austin, as reform advocates from the left and right, a state representative, and a man incarcerated for nearly twenty five years for a crime he did not commit, shared their thoughts with an audience of journalists, professors, students, and activists interested in criminal justice reform at the Texas Tribune’s annual Texas Tribune Festival. The panel, titled “What’s Next for Criminal Justice Reform?” was moderated by Bill Keller, editor-in-chief of The Marshall Project, a non-profit news website that focuses on criminal justice issues. Panelists included Vikrant Reddy, senior policy analyst with the Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Michael Morton, who was wrongfully convicted of … Read More