Lead Article
Sadness, Beauty, and Essential Listening
What families teach us about stigma around the death of a loved one in county jail and the trauma inflicted by communities and law enforcement. By Diana Claitor
Featured Articles
Texas Jail Project Takes October for Operational Development
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March, 2020, our team has worked diligently (nearly non-stop) to provide community support for the tens of thousands of people incarcerated in TX county jails. We received over 2,500 phone calls and over 1,000 emails requesting help, conducted over 1500 phone interviews and processed over 2,200 pieces of mail.
Why is it important to differentiate between county jails & state prisons?
You’re watching the news, and the reporter states, “William Larcenous will be spending the rest of his life in jail.” Or a professor describes Mary Doe languishing in prison, awaiting trial. But neither is true—because jails and prisons are very different kinds of facilities and the people in them are there for different reasons. Using the word “jail” correctly is especially important for public awareness that the majority of people being held in their local jails are pretrial—not yet convicted.
Leadership transitions at TJP!
Co-founder Krish Gundu transitioned into the role of executive director in 2020, and Dalila Reynoso joined us as community advocate and organizer! Krish Gundu has been a part of Texas Jail Project since co-founding it with three other women in 2006, and Dalila Reynoso, who has extensive experience advocating for immigrant rights in Smith County, Texas, is now working in all areas of justice advocacy in that part of Texas. Longtime director Diana Claitor continues to work at TJP as Communications Director.
Families Speak Out
Smith Co Jail Prisoners’ Thank-You Note Please notice how this handwritten thank you note on the next page says it comes from “PEOPLE who are inmates. “Hello Mrs. Dalila Reynoso: You make a difference in the lives of people who are inmates at Smith County Jail…..
In The News
Tarrant Finally Uses Cite and Release “When you look at what cite and release has done across the country, in terms of the amount of people you save from going to jail and the amount of money saved, it’s phenomenally successful for the most part. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to talk to a mother of someone who was arrested for criminal trespass who then kills themselves. It is beyond ridiculous that we feel this driving need to incarcerate, incarcerate, incarcerate.” Diana Claitor, co-founder and communications director for the Texas Jail Project, a nonprofit that empowers Texas county jail populations.
Texas Jail Project is in agreement with the Ft. Worth Police Department, whose press release states: “The cite and release program, if coupled with a commitment to stop over-policing Black and brown communities, could lead to a fairer application of the law for Tarrant County residents of all backgrounds.
What the cite and release program does is lessen the burdens on our officers by reducing the time spent on minor/nonviolent offenses. This allows them to get back into service more quickly, better serve our citizens, and spend more time addressing violent crime.” — Edward Brown
Habeas Corpus
If your loved one was found incompetent to stand trial … There is a legal filing to make sure a person found incompetent is hospitalized or removed from the jail. If your loved one has been found incompetent to stand trial due to mental disability but has continued to be held in jail without treatment, the person’s lawyer can file a Writ of Habeas Corpus with the court that requires the county to provide him/her with appropriate medical care—in other words, send them to a hospital. Once the court grants the Writ, the Sheriff must comply. Go to next page for the Writ, which you can download.
Jailhouse Stories
Voices of Pretrial Detention in Texas Jailhousestories.org lets people across Texas describe, in their own words, the often-devastating impact of incarceration in local jails. The contributors come from some 34 Texas counties, revealing issues in both urban and rural facilities, with an emphasis on small to medium-sized jails. This collection of stories from families and individuals across Texas was possible by a generous grant from Public Welfare Foundation.
