In the news: November 2006
Probation may be a problem in Texas’ criminal justice system; 11/14/2006
THE DAILY TEXAN: At around 10:30 a.m., Darnell Walker opened the door to the florescent waiting room of the Travis County Adult Probation Department wearing all black: mid-length shorts, a button down T-shirt and a baseball cap. He shuffled up to the payment window, filled out a form and carefully unfolded a wad of 20s from his wallet. He carried a weathered yellow folder bearing the Travis County seal and the words Adult Probation and Community Supervision. Walker has had the folder for the two years since he started probation and will need it for three more, when he's expected to complete his probation sentence.
Justice system under fire; 11/15/2006
AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN: Thousands of prison convicts eligible for parole are filling crowded prisons because the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has not followed its own parole guidelines and because alcohol- and drug-treatment programs are not available, members of a state panel charged Tuesday. "If you'd just followed your own guidelines, we wouldn't have a (prison) capacity problem right now," state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, told parole officials during a daylong hearing by the Sunset Advisory Commission that was punctuated by intense criticism of Texas' justice system. Texas' 153,000 prison beds are full, and the state is leasing about 1,500 additional beds from county jails.
Parole board blames for prison crowding; 11/14/2006
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Texas prisons are overcrowded with thousands of unnecessary inmates because the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles hasn't followed its own parole guidelines for releasing prisoners, a state panel said Tuesday. Members of the Sunset Advisory Commission, which periodically reviews state agencies and recommends changes, told the parole board in a hearing in Austin that a lack of alcohol and drug treatment programs was another contributing factor to the overcrowding problem. Texas has 153,000 prison beds but has had to lease another 1,500 prison beds from county jails to accommodate the number of inmates, the Austin American-Statesman reported in its online editions Tuesday.