In the news: January 2007
Texas lawmakers consider shift in prison philosophy; 1/31/07
THE DAILY TEXAN: Texas has the largest prison system in the United States, with 4.6 percent of its adults either on parole or behind bars, according to a report released recently by the Sunset Commission, a Texas legislative commission that reviews state agencies including the Department of Corrections. In the last quarter century, the report showed Texas' prison population has more than doubled, far outstripping the state's population growth of 61 percent.
Legislators are urged to shift focus on prisons; 1/31/07
STAR-TELEGRAM: If Texas would parole more low-risk, nonviolent inmates and provide more services to discourage their use of drugs and alcohol, the state could save half a billion dollars over the next five years and avoid the prospect of adding 17,000 prison beds by 2012, a criminal justice analyst told lawmakers Tuesday. Tony Fabelo, who until 2003 headed the now-defunct Texas Criminal Justice Policy Council and is now a private consultant, said at a joint meeting of the legislative committees that oversee prison and parole systems that Texas has become very good at running high-security lockups but is not good enough at rehabilitating offenders.
Report identifies prison problems; 1/31/07
AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN: The state's criminal justice system came under intense criticism Tuesday as legislative leaders made clear that business as usual — building prisons every few years — will no longer be a solution to an increasing shortage of cells and operating problems. A new study and testimony at the Capitol on Tuesday appeared to portray the system as seriously ailing. Lawmakers heard about crime-ridden neighborhoods whose residents are filling prisons at disproportional rates, a mushrooming prison population and growing prison costs.
Report: Texas needs fewer prisons, more treatment options; 1/30/07
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: More drug and alcohol treatment and fewer new prison cells could save Texas $442 million over the next five years, according to a major report that will be presented to House and Senate criminal justice committees Monday. The federally funded report, first obtained by the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News, will recommend saving $377 million by avoiding construction of new prisons for up to 5,000 more inmates.
New prison policies could save millions; 1/30/07
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: More drug and alcohol treatment and fewer new prison cells could save Texas $442 million over the next five years, a new study shows. The study, presented Tuesday at a joint meeting of the House Corrections Committee and Senate Criminal Justice Committee, shows the state could avoid spending $377 million for construction of prisons for 5,000 more inmates. The analysis also estimates the state could save another $65 million by reducing recidivism, diverting probationers into treatment and paroling nonviolent substance abusers sooner to halfway houses.
Alternatives for Prisons in Discussion; 1/30/07
TYLER PAPER: With Texas prisons running out of space and officials asking for as many as 5,000 more beds, lawmakers are trying to make more room for violent offenders without costly new construction. But some Smith County officials are wary of the plan. Ideas include moving some inmates into drug treatment programs before they're paroled and returning fewer parolees to prison for minor infractions. We're trying to do some things we believe will change the course of Texas in ways that will make this a better state," said Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Plano, chairman of the House Corrections Committee. "We're going to be looking at alternatives to actually building hard prisons."
Report says treatment could save prison space, money; 1/29/2007
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS NEWS: More drug and alcohol treatment and fewer new prison cells could save Texas $442 million over the next five years, according to a major report that will be presented to House and Senate criminal justice committees today. The report, obtained by the San Antonio Express-News and the Houston Chronicle, will recommend saving $377 million by avoiding construction of prisons for up to 5,000 more inmates. The report estimates its recommendations could save $65 million more by reducing recidivism, helping keep probationers out of prison in the first place and paroling nonviolent substance abusers sooner to halfway houses.
Study says policy changes could alleviate need for more prisons; 1/29/2007
AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN: Providing additional prison treatment programs and paroling offenders according to longstanding release guidelines would allow Texas to avoid building prisons, a new study reveals. The analysis by the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments, to be made public Tuesday at a joint meeting of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee and the House Corrections Committee, said that Texas would have just 151,817 convicts in prison by 2012 — fewer than are currently serving time in the state's near capacity prisons — if it opts for two changes in policy.
Repairing the system; 1/29/2007
FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM: Every time an individual walks free from prison because it turns out that he or she didn't actually commit the crime, the system has failed. If it hadn't failed, the wrong person wouldn't have been convicted. If it hadn't failed, the real guilty party wouldn't have evaded detection. And because the system failed, everyone involved and the public at large are entitled to know why. Everyone involved and the public at large are entitled to a reliable system that doesn't continue repeating mistakes.
Texas Legislators tackle prison reform; 1/29/2007
THE DAILY TEXAN: State legislators finalized budget requests in response to an ongoing problem of overcrowded prisons, suggesting increased funding for expanding capacity and improving rehabilitation programs. The topic of prison reform was discussed by the Sunset Advisory Commission, a group of 12 legislators and public members including Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, John Whitmire, D-Houston, and House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland. The recommendations made by the commission were put into a bill that will be reviewed this legislative session.
Dewhurst, legislators clash on prison space; 1/24/2007
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS: Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said Wednesday that Texas needs 5,000 new prison beds, a view at odds with a major report that key lawmakers will release next week that will stress treatment programs and prison alternatives. "We respect the lieutenant governor, but we respectfully disagree with him on this one if he's talking about building maximum security facilities," said Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Plano, chairman of the House Corrections Committee.
Criminal justice leaders push home nurses, anger management to help trim crime; 1/23/2007
AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN: Home nurse visits for new mothers. Anger management programs for middle-school kids. Teaching convicts the principles of entrepreneurship. Not your standard criminal justice fare. But as the Legislature prepares to tackle changes to Texas' sprawling prison system, these programs are high on lawmakers' lists. Legislators who are spearheading the proposals admit they are a change of direction for Texas criminal justice, but they say such programs are more likely to cut recidivism and crime rates than building more prisons.
Prison revamp long on rehab, short on new cells; 1/11/2007
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Texas lawmakers on an influential state commission formally recommended an overhaul of the prison rehabilitation, probation and parole systems Wednesday, hoping to reduce crowding without building new units. State corrections officials, though, want hundreds of millions of dollars to build three new prisons, saying that's the best way to prevent a projected shortfall of 11,000 beds by 2011.
Prison chief supports more rehabilitation programs; 1/11/07
AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN: Texas criminal justice czar Brad Livingston says he wholeheartedly supports a legislative move to drastically expand rehabilitation and treatment programs for convicts. And he supports the idea to re-establish a new agency to track criminal justice trends, as well. "I'm very optimistic," he said. "I support these programs. . . . We proposed additional funding for them in our (budget request)." Last summer, in its budget request, Livingston's Texas Department of Criminal Justice recommended building two state prisons and a privately run prison.
Sunset panel urges ethics rules for parole commissioners; 1/11/07
AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN: State law prohibits the seven parole board members and their spouses from having ties to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which runs the prison system. The reason is to avoid conflicts of interest in parole decisions. The law, however, does not cover the state's 12 parole commissioners, who are hired by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to help make such decisions. In fact, at least nine parole commissioners are former prison system employees, including one who retired and was hired as a commissioner in the same year.
New figures show way to ease prison crowding without building new prisons; 1/10/07
AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN: More than 5,900 lawbreakers a year could be held in alternative correctional programs other than a prison without compromising public safety, newly compiled projections revealed today. The numbers are significant, because if the state could divert that many nonviolent, low-risk criminals, it could most likely avoid building any new prisons — a move that could save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. "If we put the money that we would spend on new prisons into these alternatives, I'm confident we will spend much less and improve our criminal justice system in many ways," said House Corrections Committee Chairman Jerry Madden, R-Richardson, whose committee sought the projections.
Editorial: Oops, Texas prisons full again; 1/08/2007
WACO-TRIBUNE HERALD: In 1979, federal courts took control of the Texas prison system following a yearlong trial. Operation of the overcrowded prisons was ruled unconstitutional due to conditions considered cruel and unusual punishment. Eventually, Texas taxpayers authorized a decade-long, $2.3 billion expansion of the Texas prison system. Voters were promised that the prison building boom would solve the overcrowding problem, relieve the backlog of state prisoners in county jails and put a halt to the revolving-door parole system that was forced to give early release to prisoners.
Plan to ease prison crowding could be system’s biggest reform in the decade; 1/05/07
AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN: Senate and House leaders are close to agreement on the details of a substantive reform plan for Texas' crowded prison system that would spend nearly $150 million for expanded treatment and supervision programs, officials have confirmed. Those projects would be far less costly than building new lockups, they said. While final details are not complete, the two-year proposal would include adding at least 11,200 slots in treatment, counseling and transition programs designed to allow more convicts to successfully re-enter society rather than coming back to prison for new crimes. The details were the first to emerge on the legislative plan, which could be part of the biggest justice system reform considered by lawmakers in a decade.
Lawmakers close to proposal that would increase prison treatment programs; 1/05/07
AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN: Senate and House leaders are close to agreement on the details of a substantive reform plan for Texas' crowded prison system that would spend nearly $150 million for expanded treatment and supervision programs, officials have confirmed. Those projects would be far less costly than building new lockups, they said. While final details are not complete, the two-year proposal would include adding at least 11,200 slots in treatment, counseling and transition programs designed to allow more convicts to successfully re-enter society rather than coming back to prison for new crimes. The details were the first to emerge on the legislative plan, which could be part of the biggest justice system reform considered by lawmakers in a decade.