August 2007 in the News
Lawmakers discuss TYC’s problems; 8/29/2007
NEWS 8-AUSTIN: Publicly facing lawmakers for the first time since the Texas Youth Commission began sweeping reforms enacted by the Legislature, top agency officials said Wednesday that there is progress in restoring the state's scandal-wracked juvenile prison system. Donnie Sorgman said, like lawmakers, he's been questioning Texas Youth Commission for months, only he isn't getting answers. "As soon as they take your kids, you lose your rights," he said. Sorgman says his 17-year-old son has been locked up for a year and a half for robbing a vending machine.
TYC clarifies parole stance; 8/29/2007
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS: Contradicting statements made by an agency staff member, the Texas Youth Commission's top attorney said Wednesday that officials could consider the seriousness of an offender's crime before deciding on parole. General Counsel Steve Foster told lawmakers during a joint legislative hearing on TYC that juvenile corrections staff "can, in fact, look at offense" in determining whether an offender should be released. Eric Nichols, the deputy attorney general for criminal justice, concurred: "It is clear to every participant that the seriousness of the offense can be considered."
Lawmakers grill TYC officials on reform; 8/29/2007
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Lawmakers revisited the Texas Youth Commission scandal publicly for the first time since the end of the legislative session on Wednesday, questioning top officials on their progress in rehabilitating the embattled agency and addressing youth parole and use-of-force concerns that have resurfaced in recent months. Dimitria Pope, the Texas Youth Commission's acting executive director, responds to a question during a joint hearing of the House/Senate TYC oversight committee Wednesday in Austin.
New questions about misdemeanants in TYC; 8/29/2007
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN: Amid new controversy over Texas Youth Commission officials' plans to parole more than 100 19- and 20-year-old violent offenders, the agency faced growing questions Tuesday over why 330 youths serving time for minor crimes are still locked up months after legislative leaders called for them to be quickly released. The issue was expected to play out today at a special legislative hearing into questions about whether the scandal-racked agency is progressing in making the changes approved by lawmakers in May or whether management problems persist.
20 percent of TYC inmates rearrested after Release; 8/28/2007
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Nearly 20 percent of juvenile offenders released from the Texas Youth Commission since March have been rearrested, including a parolee accused of sexually assaulting his 79-year-old neighbor in this East Texas town. More than 2,210 inmates have been released since March 1 as part of the state's reorganization of the commission. Of those, 408 have been rearrested for new offenses, including 43 for violent crimes, according to documents obtained by the San Antonio Express-News and Houston Chronicle.
For youths' sake, change TYC policy; 8/28/07
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN: This spring, when news of shocking conditions of confinement and abusive practices of staff in Texas Youth Commission facilities made headlines, the response from elected officials was swift, strong and hopeful. Texas leaders took a firm stance in opposition to the sexual and physical abuse, endemic violence, substandard medical care and ineffective treatment programs plaguing the Youth Commission. They immediately put into place a number of oversight mechanisms and standards for better care of children in Youth Commission custody.
Pepper Spray use at Youth Commission Draws Fire; 8/24/2007
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN: Texas Youth Commission employees are using pepper spray to control unruly youths in state lockups, a move critics say could violate a 1984 court order prohibiting the use of mace and tear gas except to control riots. Although pepper spray previously was allowed as a last resort, a recent directive allows employees to use the chemical agent before trying physical restraints, which have resulted in numerous injuries to staff and youthful offenders.
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN: Those who have watched bureaucracies over time realize that when agencies assume the fetal position, someone usually gets crushed. The reaction of Texas Youth Commission administrators to bad news and negative attention from the public and the Legislature has not been to work on correcting scandalous treatment of its charges but to find out who is leaking information to the public and the Legislature. Last week, the American-Statesman's Mike Ward reported that an American-Statesman article published July 13 sparked the inquiry.
Sweeping reforms will drop TYC age limit; 8/13/2007
BEAUMONT ENTERPRISE: When a Port Neches teen was convicted of capital murder in 2004 for killing her newborn, she began her 13-year sentence in Texas Youth Commission custody. Because she was convicted under a determinate sentencing statute, her case would be reviewed after she turned 17. Determinate sentencing allows judges to sentence juveniles to specific terms, of which the first part would be served in TYC. Depending on the progress made in rehabilitation, the youth could be sent to adult prison, paroled under TYC supervision or discharged.
TYC considers wider use of pepper spray; 8/12/2007
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Texas Youth Commission officials say they may soon rely more on pepper spray – and less on physical takedowns and restraints – to subdue unruly juvenile prisoners. They hope to reduce staff and inmate injuries, authorities reviewing the agency's "use of force" policy say, and to curb workers' compensation claims that they say are higher in Texas' youth prisons than in any other state's. Juvenile justice advocates call the practice barbaric and regressive, and say it's hardly the message the scandal-weary TYC should send to inmates or their families.
Powder identified as coffee creamer; 8/12/2007
TIMES RECORD NEWS: VERNON (Special) - The white powdery substance that caused a lockdown at the Victory Field Texas Youth Commission late Friday afternoon has been identified as coffee creamer. A fire department official said tests conducted by a hazardous materials team from the Wichita Falls Fire Department showed about a 95 percent possibility that the substance was just creamer. A total of 23 people went through the decontamination process at the facility after three employees opened three pieces of mail containing the white powdery substance.
Powder causes lockdown; 8/11/2007
TIMES RECORD NEWS: VERNON (Special) - Emergency personnel were called to the Texas Youth Commission facility several miles south of here Friday when suspicious white powder was found in the mail room. Wilbarger County Sheriff Larry Lee said three cadets at the facility received mail containing the powder. He said three employees came into direct contact with the substance. Two of them suffered minor breathing problems. All three went through a decontamination process at the facility and were taken to Wilbarger General Hospital for evaluation. Lee said they were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.
Bad behavior: Young criminals aren't safe in lockup; 8/10/2007
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Texans have shown little patience with young people who commit heinous crimes. This state's populace has been willing to try young teens as adults for murder, to mingle juvenile offenders with hardened adult convicts and to execute capital murderers who killed before reaching adulthood. Even so, the unceasing reports of mismanagement and abuse emanating from the Texas Youth Commission should disgust even the staunchest tough-on-crime residents. This state has no shortage of young people who kill, rape, rob and assault.
Texas Youth Commission investigates leaks; 8/10/2007
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN: Officials at the Texas Youth Commission, who earlier promised a new era of transparency at the troubled agency, have undertaken an investigation into who is leaking information to the public and to state legislators. Two sources familiar with the inquiry said it was prompted by a July 13 article in the American-Statesman disclosing that Youth Commission officials had canceled the release of more than 150 teenage offenders after discovering that many had served little time on their sentences for serious violent crimes such as murder, aggravated sexual assault, aggravated robbery and kidnapping.
Feds knew about TYC abuse cases; 8/05/2007
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: For four years, U.S. Justice Department attorneys heard the horror stories: Inmates in Texas juvenile prisons were being beaten and molested by the people who were supposed to protect them. Federal watchdogs discreetly collected information and discussed fine legal points as the assaults piled up. More than 2,000 allegations of staff abusing inmates were confirmed by the Texas Youth Commission from January 2003 to December 2006. The Justice Department ultimately declined to prosecute anyone at TYC or do anything to compel agency-wide reforms. Attorneys said they were constrained by narrowly drawn laws and insufficient evidence.