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.

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.

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.

As of now, please send all mail to:
Texas Jail Project
13121 Louetta Road #1330
Cypress TX 77429

Do you know anyone who feels like the color of their skin made it harder for them to get services or find a job or get legal help? Maybe you yourself have felt the effects of racial bias when trying to get mental health care or when defending yourself in the criminal justice system. Other people of color know what it’s like to be disrespected becuase of their sexual orientation or because of not speaking English. We recorded those story at our workshop in Dallas, Saturday, January 18th! The turnout was great and the videos are awesome. It will take more time to get them edited, and so please stay tuned!

Texas Jail Project is the focus of two episodes of 70 Million, a national documentary podcast about criminal justice reform. New York journalist and radio producer Rowan Moore Gerety has followed the work of Texas Jail Project for years, and he saw the potential of our history and advocacy for this acclaimed series. The first

Deacon Bob spoke truth to the Commissioners and staff at the quarterly meeting of the Jail Commission. One of his important points: “It appears that the sheriff and local staff have little concern for families of those incarcerated and the important role they play. These sheriffs seem to forget they are elected by those in their community, who may have a loved one in their jail. I hear it said many times by families that feel like they are being treated as though they have committed a crime, as well. I realize that public safety is top priority for the county jails, but families can and should be treated with respect. Each of us were created in God’s image and likeness.”

Maria Ana speaks about her son’s experience of being held pretrial in a Texas county jail for 3 years and asks others to tell their stories.

County jails are not required to have a library like state prisons are. And a lot of small to medium sized jails don’t have any books and only allow ones ordered from publishers or Amazon. So If your family can’t afford to buy them for you, you may go months with nothing to read or learn. Or you may only find tattered romance novels like our founder Diane Wilson found in the Victoria County Jail. So Jail Reads helps bring words and hope into the jails!

Jarvis Cooper emailed the Texas Jail Project a message with the subject line “please help” on July 11th. He was reaching out for his partner, Kandace Washington, a 22-year-old woman more than six months pregnant with a high-risk pregnancy, incarcerated in the county jail in Beaumont. Before she was arrested on a nonviolent charge, she had been regularly seeing doctors at the University of Texas Medical Branch and doing her best to stay healthy.
“When I was booked in, I told them my UTMB doctor explained the high risk pregnancy,” said Kandace. “But I don’t know if they ever got [my medical records] at the jail.”