In 2020 we rose to the challenge – taking on the colliding pandemics of COVID-19 and inhumane jailing, while undergoing our own internal transformation. We’re proud to have taken on big fights in our pursuit of depopulating county jails and demonstrating community based alternatives to incarceration. Texas county jails were the frontlines for this year’s crisis, foregrounding systemic inequities and corruption, from rural county jails with unreported outbreaks to metropolitan superspreader facilities. And we didn’t back down.

Why did Smith County incarcerate Robert Paquin for most of 2020? Texas Jail Project uncovered a multitude of reasons that didn’t make sense, and we took action.  Robert Joshua Paquin turned 19 in the Smith County Jail this year. Despite his medical history, Robert would be on his way to prison now, if it wasn’t for

Did you know that thousands of poor people are getting an extremely low quality of defense – no visits, no investigation, no research, no plan, no hope–in the Houston courts? Click below to listen to people in Harris County Jail telling us about their experiences with their court appointed attorneys: https://twitter.com/TxJailProject/status/1314961594380685313?s=19 Join Texas Jail Project and a powerful

Co-founder Krish Gundu transitioned into the role of executive director this month, and Dalila Reynoso has 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 as of July, 2020, she has moved into the position of executive

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.

STORIES, INSIGHTS, EXPERIENCES … Join Texas Jail Project’s Executive Director Diana Claitor at 3:30 CT today on Facebook Live with KXAN News for a discussion of our stories featured in their ‘Locked in Limbo’ series about persons with mental illness stuck in county jails. Diana will share insights from the hundreds of stories that Texas Jail

What do you say to a family begging for help for their child? Their 17 year old in Taylor County Jail was denied medical care for a staph infection and was in the midst of his third surgery before his family found out. How do you help families being stonewalled when they seek the medical

Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four explores the nightmarish persecution of Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquez — four Latina lesbians wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting two little girls in San Antonio, Texas. They were 19 and 20 years at the time of the allegations. The film begins

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

Why did Ellis County jailers refuse to transport a woman in labor, resulting in her giving birth on the floor of her cell and the baby dying? Why can’t we find out how many people of color are incarcerated in our county jails? Do any commissioners at the Texas Commission on Jail Standards—the people who