TCJC Blog

03/23/2020

What I Learned About Restorative Justice as TCJC’s Youth Justice Ambassador

The first time I heard about “restorative justice” was during the summer before my senior year of high school, on my first day at TCJC. I was an eager-to-please Policy Associate (and very much still am, just now under a different title!), and I was excited to get my first glimpse into the policy world. Over the coming months, I would spend  a large part of my time at TCJC poring over research about restorative... Read more >

03/16/2020

Mitigating Disaster: Urgent and Just Responses to COVID-19 in the Texas Justice System

March 16, 2020

The Honorable Greg Abbott
Office of the Texas Governor
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, TX 78711

Mitigating Disaster: Urgent and Just Responses to COVID-19 in the Texas Justice System

Dear Governor Abbott:

Thank you for quickly halting visitation in Texas prisons and jails across the state in response to the grave threat that a COVID-19 contagion poses to incarcerated populations and staff members. Today we write to you in support... Read more >

03/11/2020

Release Valve: Updates About Parole As Two More Texas Prisons Close

On Thursday, February 20, a reporter from the Texas Tribune contacted me for comment following the announcement by Senator John Whitmire that the state plans to close two prisons. The closure is a result of the prison population’s decrease from 145,402 to 141,549 people between January and December 2019, despite projections by the Legislative Budget Board that the incarcerated population would remain at or above 145,000 through 2024. Shuttering two prisons is a... Read more >

02/18/2020

Perception Equals Potential: New Coalition in Dallas Will Work to Reverse the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Dallas has historically been a tale of two cities: one Black and one white. This problem exists to this day, especially when it comes to the divide in education, policing, and housing. South and West Dallas contain the highest concentration of Black and Latinx citizens.

The schools in these areas have a well-known reputation for excessive use of disciplinary action, which results in suspensions, expulsions, and justice system referrals. When it comes to... Read more >

01/26/2020

So Much More Than "Formerly Incarcerated"

Before April 2017, I truly believed that I was destined to either perish as a result of my addiction or spend my life in prison. I was a woman who’d been trapped in a cycle of drug use and incarceration for 20 years, and I had no idea how to get out of the mess I had made of my life. I’d faced incarceration in so many ways—from finding myself in and out of county... Read more >

12/16/2019

Ending the Year in Celebration With a Texas Women's Dignity Retreat!

To close out this year’s progress on TCJC’s “Justice for Women” campaign, we took to the mountains—or, more accurately, the hills! From November 8-10, formerly incarcerated women, advocates, and service providers who have been working to advance women's justice legislation in our state gathered at beautiful Mo-Ranch in Hunt for the first-ever Texas Women's Dignity Retreat. The goal was to celebrate all of the incredible progress that’s been made, build community, and plan next steps... Read more >

12/03/2019

What You Can Do for System-Involved Texans This Holiday Season

In the age of limitless streaming and nonstop social media saturation, we see a lot of holiday imagery that evokes peace, joy, and plenty. But if your loved one is spending the holidays behind bars, or if you’re system-involved yourself, it can be challenging to remain in the holiday spirit when December rolls around.

At this time of year, a simple gesture like a message of love and support can make all the difference for... Read more >

10/24/2019

How Fighting for Myself Became a Fight for Other Trafficking Survivors

In 2011, I heard a loud bang on my door. My heart began to pound in my chest. I’d heard that knock before. A “cop” knock. Complete and utter despair set... Read more >

09/25/2019

Justice for Women Campaign Update: Texas Prison Program Focuses on Trauma and Education Needs of Incarcerated Women

Yesterday, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ, the state prison system) unveiled a first-of-its-kind women’s reentry program designed to help incarcerated women address and heal from trauma, as well as connect with jobs that will be waiting for them upon their release. The program is small—only 31 women in the inaugural class, though TDCJ is aiming to double it by the end of the year—and it starts late—during the last 12 weeks of... Read more >

New Guide: Lessons for Creating a Data Dashboard in Your County
09/18/2019

New Guide: Lessons for Creating a Data Dashboard in Your County

Over the last two years, the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition has worked to make the state’s criminal justice system more transparent by obtaining and visualizing criminal court data. Beginning with Harris County, this project has helped hold people in power accountable for their promises of reform.

With funding from Microsoft Cities Team and a partnership with data science firm January Advisors, this work expanded geographically to Dallas County, as well as expanding in... Read more >

09/05/2019

I Walked the Line

I recently shared my story as part of a restorative justice program at the Kyle State Prison Unit for men. It was the first time I had stepped foot in an adult unit in over a decade. After I shared my experience, the men, facilitators and I broke into groups to discuss my story in depth. I could see the hunger for change in these men’s eyes as they questioned me about my prison experiences,... Read more >

05/27/2019

2019 Bills That Are Still Moving or Have Become Law

 
Last updated: August 29, 2019

It’s Sine Die – the last day of legislative session – and TCJC is thrilled that so many positive bills have progressed to the Governor’s desk.  A few have already become law!

The Governor now has a 20-day period to review the bills and either sign them into law, let them pass into law without his signature, or veto them.

Below we... Read more >

05/22/2019

Taking Off the Mask: GRAD Program Helps Heal Men Who Have Hurt Others

As I visited several classrooms of students participating in the Gang Renouncement and Disassociation (GRAD) process at the Ellis Unit in Huntsville, Texas, I couldn’t help but remember my time in the same program at the Ramsey Unit in Rosharon, Texas, in 2010. I shared those experiences with the men in Ellis and told them how much of an impact my cognitive intervention teacher, Ms. Kathy Gant, had had on my life. I told them... Read more >

Mother’s Day Update on TCJC’s “Justice for Women” Campaign
05/12/2019

Mother’s Day Update on TCJC’s “Justice for Women” Campaign

Last March, TCJC launched a Justice for Women campaign to urge the Texas Legislature to address the needs of women impacted by the criminal justice system. We kicked off the campaign with a 2-part report series, which found that the number of women in Texas prisons had grown by

... Read more >
An incarcerated person with his hands on the bars
05/07/2019

What Good Bail Reform Looks Like in Texas (And How We’ll Get There)

On any given day, more than 60% of the people held in county jails across Texas have not been convicted of the crime with which they’re charged. These 40,000 people are incarcerated, draining important county resources and watching their jobs, families, and quality of life crumble, simply for being unable to pay their bail amount.

“Innocent until proven guilty” is a foundational principle of American life – but for many Texans, if you’re too... Read more >

Reflections on my visit to the Youthful Offender Program in Texas
04/30/2019

Reflections on My Visit to the Youthful Offender Program

I recently visited a group of boys in the Youthful Offender Program (YOP). They’re all under 18 years old but they’ve been incarcerated in Texas’ adult prison system at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Ellis Unit in Huntsville. We enjoyed Domino’s pizza (the chicken and mushroom is the big hit) and asked each other ice-breaker questions. It was a positive experience talking with the kids. Still, it was difficult to deal with – these... Read more >

New Dallas County Data Dashboard Provides Critical Transparency and Accountability Mechanism
04/25/2019

New Dallas County Data Provides Critical Transparency and Accountability Mechanism

TCJC is excited to announce that our Dallas County Criminal Court Dashboard is now up and running at TCJCdashboard.org/dallas!

We’re giving you access to over 100,000 criminal court cases, right at your fingertips.

Acquiring the criminal court data for Dallas County was a much different process than obtaining the same data for our Harris County Dashboard. But through persistence and the ingenuity of our partners at January Advisors, we were able to obtain... Read more >

02/19/2019

Survivors Speak Comes to Texas

Three years ago, I traveled from Austin to Sacramento, California, to attend Survivors Speak—an annual event hosted by the Alliance for Safety and Justice (ASJ), which brings together the largest gathering of crime survivors in the United States. The event allows crime survivors to share stories, honor loved ones, and advocate for change. 

During that first trip to the California State Capitol, I discovered a new victims’ movement—one where a diverse group of survivors was... Read more >

01/23/2019

5 Lessons Learned from Launching TCJC’s Data Dashboard

Two years ago, when we began analyzing data about criminal court case outcomes in Harris County, we had a sense that the data would be useful for all types of criminal justice advocates. But most criminal justice advocates aren't statistical programmers. 

That's why we built the Data Dashboard. It's an interactive tool that helps advocates track cases and trends through Harris County’s criminal court system. Anyone can log on and explore the numbers by... Read more >

11/28/2018

Sending Love to People Behind Bars This Holiday Season

I remember the holiday season during my sixth year in prison. I hadn’t seen my daughter since my arrest, and I longed to be able to see her face when she opened presents on Christmas morning. The extreme separation from my family created an agonizing emptiness that persisted despite my efforts to create a community of friends inside the prison walls. The pain was especially harsh that year because my father had died the month... Read more >

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