Lead Article
TJP’s Covid-19 response work featured on Houston Public Media
Recordings and letters provided by Texas Jail Project provide a glimpse into the jails as COVID-19 continues to spread across Texas. Krish Gundu, coordinator and co-founder of TJP, spoke to Houston Public Media, describing conditions: “…folks in jails have no ability at all to physically distance themselves from one another,” Gundu said. “And they don’t have the kind of access to medical care that you and I have. So the jails are already a public health crisis, but now we’re seeing, now it’s sharply in focus, as to how much of a crisis it is.”
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- How is Texas Jail Project helping during the COVID-19 crisis?
- Why is it important to differentiate between county jails & prisons?
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Featured Articles
As of now, please send all mail to:
Texas Jail Project
13121 Louetta Road #1330
Cypress TX 77429
How is Texas Jail Project helping during the COVID-19 crisis?
WE LISTEN AND CONNECT …
Families with resources and contacts: People in Dallas, Houston, Tyler, Victoria, San Antonio, Texarkana, and other towns are desperate for information about how county jails are protecting their loved ones from the virus. Remember, no visitors are allowed now since COVID-19! Also, no chaplains or educators or volunteers.
Why is it important to differentiate between county jails & prisons?
You’re watching the news, and the reporter solemnly states, “William Larcenous will be spending the rest of his life in jail.” Or describes Mary Doe languishing in prison waiting for 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 awarenessof of the large percentage of people being held pretrial—not yet convicted—in their local jails.
Families Speak Out
MEMORIES OF CLINTON HARRINGTON My son, Clinton Joseph Harrington, was born on July 24, 1986. He died on October 18, 2018 while in pre-trial custody in the Victoria County Jail. Information from the Medical Examiner and Texas Rangers raises serious concerns about the conditions of Clinton’s confinement and the circumstances leading up to his death. We have chosen not to comment on the details of that information at this time. Clinton was 32 years old at the time of his death.
In The News
In under two weeks, Texas jails see 340% increase in inmates testing positive for COVID-19
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.
Pretrial Detention
Voices of Pretrial Detention in Texas “Sharing my story might not make it more safe for myself, but I would like to make it safe for someone else,” says John Brown, who was jailed at Dallas County Jail for two and a half years while awaiting trial. His story as well as others reveal what happens to unconvicted people held in jails, mostly because they cannot afford the bail—a practice outlawed in many developed nations.
Last year, Texas Jail Project launched a website, “Jailhouse Stories: Voices from Pretrial Detention in Texas.” Collected over a two-year period, these powerful stories document a pattern of mistreatment and poor conditions experienced by those incarcerated in county jails while pretrial—innocent in the eyes of the law and awaiting their day in court.
