Alternatives to Incarceration

Letters to the Editor — Renewable energy, special ed teachers, youth prisons, energy tips

The Roserock Solar Project in Pecos County, Texas, photo via Dallas Morning News/Recurrent Energy

Letter to the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board from Sarah Reyes, TCJE Director of Youth Justice: The Texas Center for Justice and Equity is pleased that the editorial board has raised serious questions about the state allocating $200 million to build new child prisons.

Appointed attorneys are ‘doing less than the bare minimum’ for capital murder defendants in Harris County, report says

A man takes part in a therapy session in an acute unit of the mental heath unit at the Harris County jail, photo via Houston Public Media/AP Photo/Eric Gay

Over the five-year time period, 12 people were convicted after never being visited by their attorney, according to the report. Additionally, 56 people — less than 10% of cases — were visited by an attorney more than once per month. “It speaks to the nature of our system,” said Jay Jenkins, the Harris County project attorney for the TCJE. “We arrest so many people that cannot afford their attorney and then provide inadequate representation for them.”

Why Many Democrats Are Turning Against One of the Most Powerful Prosecutors in Texas

Harris County district attorney Kim Ogg and her challenger for the Democratic primary, Sean Teare, in Houston on January 30, 2024. Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty

At the Fountain of Praise, a Black church in southwest Houston, senior pastor Remus Wright was preaching to his congregation about the importance of protecting their dreams. In the crowded sanctuary that Sunday morning sat several political candidates with dreams of their own: among them was Sean Teare, a former assistant district attorney who is now the front-runner in a race to unseat his former boss, Harris County district attorney Kim Ogg, in the Democratic primary. 

The Juvenile “Injustice” System: How Texas Turns a Blind Eye on Incarcerated Youth

Shadow on wall behind prison bars, via Ye Jinghan, Unsplash, Harvard Political Review

Twenty-three hours out of the day, youth in juvenile detention facilities in McLennan County, Texas are being locked in their cells for solitary confinement. Just a couple miles away at a youth prison in North Texas, children reported using water bottles as makeshift toilets because they were prevented from leaving their cells to use the bathroom.

Formerly Incarcerated Leaders to Gather for Community-Building Event in San Antonio

Screengrab of press release PDF

On December 30, a group of formerly incarcerated and justice system-impacted Texans will convene in San Antonio. 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).

Read the rest of this press release here.

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