“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

Before he killed himself in his solitary cell the Red River County jail in May of 2019, Christopher Cabler wrote a note that said, “I couldn’t be alone anymore—I’m tired of them telling me to do it that’s all they ever say do it do it do it so f*** I’ll do it! All I wanted was to be able to talk to somebody.”

Until recently, Carolina was working with incarcerated people experiencing mental illness, providing information about resources they could use once out: housing, jobs and medical care. But she learned that first she had to overcome their distrust and fear. And some of them were very anxious—wondering if they will fail again once they are back in the free world.

An increasing number of the people held in our county jails are people living with mental illness or disabilities. Fox News 7 interviews Texas Jail Project Executive Director Diana Claitor about her thoughts on the problem.

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.

“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.

We tend to think that there is someone holding jails accountable for how they treat people with mental disorders, but this new lawsuit by the watchdog group, Texas Disability Rights, proves that terrible things are still happening and that jails have to be sued to make any changes. Since this lawsuit was filed in June, Texas Jail Project has received more complaints about Victoria County Jail, including one from a mother of a man who has mental disabilitiies and a serious phyical illness that is not being treated. When will the Texas Commission on Jail Standards take action to transform this sick jail?

From his wife and the mother of his little girl: “Miss and love ya! Greg was a good friend, a loving father, a talented surfer, painter, and had a heart of gold. My husband battled mental health issues and as we all know Texas cut the budget for mental health a huge amount…”

County commissioners and law enforcement across Texas often talk a good game about reducing recidivism and diverting people with mental illness. However, at the same time, many officials—and the jailhouse culture—erect barriers to programming that could help inmates while they are incarcerated. Romy Zarate says such programs can turn a life around.