The Political Dynamics of Justice Reform in The U.S.
The Political Dynamics of Justice Reform in The U.S.
The Political Dynamics of Justice Reform in The U.S.
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adm<strong>in</strong>istrators <strong>in</strong> a number <strong>of</strong> states, though not Texas, have become outspoken critics<br />
<strong>of</strong> solitary conf<strong>in</strong>ement.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Texas Department <strong>of</strong> Crim<strong>in</strong>al <strong>Justice</strong> reports that about 3 percent <strong>of</strong> state<br />
prisoners are housed <strong>in</strong> extreme isolation, which would place Texas <strong>in</strong> the bottom third<br />
<strong>of</strong> report<strong>in</strong>g states. But Texas leads the country by far <strong>in</strong> the number <strong>of</strong> prisoners<br />
serv<strong>in</strong>g long periods <strong>of</strong> time <strong>in</strong> solitary conf<strong>in</strong>ement. Nearly 70 percent <strong>of</strong> all the<br />
prisoners <strong>in</strong> the country who have been isolated for six or more years are housed <strong>in</strong><br />
Texas state prisons.<br />
Solitary conf<strong>in</strong>ement <strong>in</strong> Texas is more austere and restrictive than <strong>in</strong> other states. A high<br />
proportion <strong>of</strong> segregated <strong>in</strong>mates <strong>in</strong> Texas state prisons have been diagnosed with<br />
mental illnesses. Denied social contact, people housed <strong>in</strong> solitary conf<strong>in</strong>ement get<br />
worse at relat<strong>in</strong>g to others. Until very recently, the TDCJ rout<strong>in</strong>ely released hundreds <strong>of</strong><br />
people from solitary conf<strong>in</strong>ement directly to the streets each year without any step-down<br />
or transition programs.<br />
Incidents <strong>of</strong> major use <strong>of</strong> force aga<strong>in</strong>st prisoners have <strong>in</strong>creased about 50 percent over<br />
the last decade <strong>in</strong> Texas state prisons, likely due to chronic staff<strong>in</strong>g shortages, high staff<br />
turnover, <strong>in</strong>experienced guards, and prisons that get brutally hot <strong>in</strong> the summer.<br />
Thousands <strong>of</strong> untra<strong>in</strong>ed guards work <strong>in</strong> jails across Texas, thanks to a loophole that<br />
permits jails to employ temporary guards for up to a year. <strong>The</strong> deadly consequences <strong>of</strong><br />
this loophole were shock<strong>in</strong>gly apparent <strong>in</strong> the video <strong>of</strong> the death <strong>of</strong> Andy DeBusk, who<br />
was com<strong>in</strong>g down from a meth high <strong>in</strong> a privately run jail outside <strong>of</strong> Fort Worth when he<br />
died <strong>of</strong> asphyxiation after be<strong>in</strong>g pepper-sprayed and shackled by poorly tra<strong>in</strong>ed guards<br />
on Christmas Eve 2016.<br />
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