Brazoria County seeks jail reform amid rising inmate population

Krishnaveni Gundu, executive director of the Texas Jail Project, a nonprofit organization that advocates for jail reform, said a large portion of occupied state hospital beds are essentially “stuck.” She said up to 50% of occupied beds are being used by individuals who need long-term care, and due to having acute needs, there is nowhere for them to be transferred out. “There’s nowhere for these people to go,” Gundu said. “So if we don’t have a plan to get that population out, it doesn’t matter how many beds we build.”