The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

s, state jails, and private correctional facilities, funding and certain oversight of community supervision, and supervision of offenders released from prison on

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

or mandatory supervision. The TDCJ operates the largest prison system in the United States.Huntsville Prison Blues
.

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

. ''

All Things Considered ''All Things Considered'' (''ATC'') is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio (NPR). It was the first news program on NPR, premiering on May 3, 1971. It is broadcast live on NPR affiliated stations in the United ...

''. September 10, 2001. Retrieved on December 2, 2009. The department has its headquarters in the Brad Livingston Administrative Headquarters in

Huntsville Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in th ...

and offices at the Price Daniel Sr. Building in

downtown Austin Downtown Austin is the central business district of Austin, Texas. Downtown is located on the north bank of the Colorado River. The approximate borders of Downtown include Lamar Boulevard to the west, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the U ...

.Web Directory - Texas Department of Criminal Justice
" Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed September 13, 2008.

History

1800s

In 1848, the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...

passed "An Act to Establish a State Penitentiary", which created an oversight board to manage the treatment of convicts and administration of the penitentiaries. Land was acquired in

and

Rusk A rusk is a hard, dry biscuit or a twice-baked bread. It is sometimes used as a teether for babies. In some cultures, rusk is made of cake, rather than bread: this is sometimes referred to as cake rusk. In the UK, the name also refers to a whea ...

for later facilities. The prison system began as a single institution, located in Huntsville. A second prison facility, Rusk Penitentiary, began receiving convicts in January 1883. Before the ''

Ruiz v. Estelle ''Ruiz v. Estelle'', 503 F. Supp. 1265 (S.D. Tex. 1980), filed in United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, eventually became the most far-reaching lawsuit on the conditions of prison incarceration in American history. It ...

'' court case, the Texas Department of Corrections had 18 units, including 16 for males and two for females. Various administrative changes where the organization of the managing board of the department occurred over the next 100 years.

1900s

In 1921, George W. Dixon of ''

The Prison Journal ''The Prison Journal'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the field of Criminology. The journal's editor is Rosemary L. Gido (Indiana University of Pennsylvania). It has been in publication since 1921 and is currently pub ...

'' published a report on the Texas Prison System facilities. His article stated that the prisons were among the most "brutal" in the world. Dixon said that the prisons featured corporal punishment such as whipping, beatings, and isolation. In July and August 1974, a major riot at the Huntsville Walls prison resulted in the murder of two hostages. This was not a riot, but an escape attempt in which the whole Huntsville Unit was shut down. Inmates were Fred Gomez Carrasco, Rudolpho Domingez and Ignacio Cueves. In 1979,''

'' found that the conditions of imprisonment within the TDC prison system constituted

cruel and unusual punishment Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase in common law describing punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to the sanction. The precise definition varies by jurisd ...

in violation of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

. The decision led to federal oversight of the system, with a prison construction boom and "sweeping reforms ... that fundamentally changed how Texas prisons operated." In 1989, the TDCJ and the Board of Criminal Justice were created. The board is composed of nine members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate to six-year, overlapping terms. This new agency absorbed functions of three state agencies - the Texas Department of Corrections, the

Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP) is a state agency that makes parole and clemency decisions for inmates in Texas prisons. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas. The BPP was created by constitutional amendment in 1935. It determines wh ...

, and the Texas Adult Probation Commission. In the 1980s, the government of Texas began building more prisons. During that decade, impoverished rural communities viewed the prisons as a boon, as they provided jobs. In 1987, the Texas State Board of Corrections voted to build two new 2,250-inmate maximum-security prisons in Gatesville and

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat, seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County. It is the List of cities in Texas by population, 14th-most populous city in Texas and th ...

and several 1,000-inmate medium-security prisons in Liberty County,

Marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes about 10 species. A marlin has an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to deri ...

, Snyder, and Woodville. The TDC units in Amarillo and Snyder were the first ones located outside of Central Texas and

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that comprises most of 41 counties. It is primarily divided into Northeast and Southeast Texas. Most of the region cons ...

. James Anthum "Andy" Collins, the executive director of the TDCJ from April 10, 1994, to around December 1995, became a consultant for VitaPro, a company selling a meat substitute that was used in Texas prisons.Draper, Robert.
The Great Texas Prison Mess

Archive
. ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

''. May 1996. Retrieved on January 19, 2016. Shirley Southerland, a prisoner at the

Hobby Unit The William P. Hobby Unit (HB) is a Incarceration of women in the United States, prison for women in unincorporated area, unincorporated Falls County, Texas, Falls County, Texas, United States. Named after William P. Hobby, Lieutenant Governor of Te ...

, stated that her fellow prisoners discovered that the VitaPro product was intended for consumption by canines. Collins arranged for VitaPro to be used while he was still the head of the TDCJ. Collins had awarded a $33.7 million contract to the company. Robert Draper of the ''

'' accused various TDCJ board members and state officials in the early to mid-1990s of capitalizing on the rapid expansion of Texas prisons – from 1994 to 1996 the number of prisoners almost doubled and the number of the prison units increased from 65 to 108 – and trying to establish favorable business contracts and/or get prisons named after them. Draper reasoned, "If llan B. Polunskyand other board members didn't care about ethics, why should Andy Collins?"

2000s and 2010s

According to a December 2007 survey of prisoners from the

U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime, and the operation of cri ...

, five TDCJ units,

Allred Unit The James V. Allred Unit''Texas Department of Criminal Justice''. Turner Publishing Company, 200450 , . is a prison for males located on Farm to Market Road 369 in Wichita Falls, Texas, United States, northwest of downtown Wichita Falls.

Clemens Unit Clemens Unit (CN) is a prison farm of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) in unincorporated Brazoria County, Texas, in Greater Houston. The prison, with about , is located at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 2004 and Texas Stat ...

Coffield Unit The H. H. Coffield Unit (CO) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison for men in unincorporated Anderson County, Texas. The prison, near Tennessee Colony, is along Farm to Market Road 2054. The unit, on a plot of land, is co-located ...

Estelle Unit W. J. "Jim" Estelle Unit
."

Mountain View Unit Mountain View Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison housing female offenders in Gatesville, Texas. The unit, with about of land, is located north of central Gatesville on Farm to Market Road 215. The prison is located in a 45 ...

, were among those in the United States with the highest numbers of reported

prison rape Prison rape or jail rape refers to sexual assault of people while they are incarcerated. The phrase is commonly used to describe rape of inmates by other inmates, or to describe rape of inmates by staff. China In February 2021, BBC News repo ...

cases in 2006. In 2007, the TDCJ reported a total of 234 reported sexual assaults in its prisons. Michelle Lyons, the TDCJ spokesperson, said, "The actual reports we have are not consistent with the results in the survey, but because it's anonymous, there's no way for us to verify that additional number." In 2008, the TDCJ planned to install cell phone-jamming devices at its units, but encountered resistance from cell phone companies. In 2014, the Human Rights Clinic of the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

released a report stating that the temperatures in many TDCJ units are too high over the summer and that at least 14 inmates had been killed by the heat since 2007. In 2013, the TDCJ had signed a deal for a climate-controlled housing system for pig breeding; this was worth $750,000. In response,

John Whitmire John Harris Whitmire (born August 13, 1949) is an American attorney and politician who is the longest-serving current member of the Texas State Senate. Since 1983, he has represented District 15, which includes much of northern Houston, Texas ...

of the

Texas State Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...

stated, "the people of Texas don't want air-conditioned prisons, and there's a lot of other things on my list above the heat. It's hot in Texas, and a lot of Texans who are not in prison don't have air conditioning." That year, a federal judge declared that the TDCJ is making it impossible for Muslim inmates to practice their religion. In 2017, the use of solitary confinement as punishment was ended.

Governance

Texas Department of Criminal Justice Austin

The Texas Board of Criminal Justice oversees the TDCJ. The board selects the executive director, who manages the TDCJ. The members of the board are appointed by the

Governor of Texas The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...

Current board members

*Brian Collier (executive director) *Oscar Mendoza (deputy executive director) *Patrick O’Daniel (chairman) *Derrelynn Perryman (vice chairman) *Pastor Larry Miles (secretary) *E.F. "Mano" DeAyala (member) *Molly Francis (member) *Faith Johnson (member) *Sichan Siv (member) *Eric Nichols (member) * Rodney Burrow, M.D. (member)

Major divisions

The department encompasses these major divisions: *Correctional Institutions Division *Parole Division *Community Justice Assistance Division

Correctional Institutions Division

The Correctional Institutions Division, which operates secure correctional facilities for adults, has its headquarters in the Brad Livingston Administrative Headquarters in Huntsville. TDCJ-CID, formed in 2003, was a merger of the Institutions Division, the Operations Division, the Private Facilities Division, and the State Jail Division. The division operates prisons, which are facilities for people convicted of capital offenses and people convicted of first-, second-, and third-degree felony offenses, and state jails, facilities for people convicted of state jail felony offenses. Before the 2003 formation of the Correctional Institutions Division, the Institutional Division operated prisons and the State Jail Division (TDCJ-SJDState Jail Evaluation Summary Report Lychner State Jail
" Texas Department of Criminal Justice. October 2000.) operated state jails.
" Criminal Justice Policy Council. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. As of 2010, of the counties in Texas, the five with the highest numbers of state prisons and jails were

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People * Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) * Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California ...

, Brazoria and Coryell (tie), and

Anderson Anderson or Andersson may refer to: Companies * Anderson (Carriage), a company that manufactured automobiles from 1907 to 1910 * Anderson Electric, an early 20th-century electric car * Anderson Greenwood, an industrial manufacturer * Anderson ...

and

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

(tie).Unit Directory
" Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on May 10, 2010.Horswell, Cindy.
For hard-hit economy of Liberty County, crime officially pays
" ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

''. Thursday June 29, 1995. A30. Retrieved on July 23, 2010. As of 2001, prisons may be named after people who are dead or who are still alive, and namesakes have included Governors of Texas, TDCJ employees, members of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...

, mayors, police officers, and judges. In previous eras, prisons were only named after deceased TDCJ employees and state governors. By the 2000s, so many new prisons were being built that the TDCJ had to change its naming policy.Hallinan, Joseph T.
Chapter One

. ''Going Up the River: Travels in a Prison Nation''. 2001. Retrieved on September 27, 2015. Regional offices of the CID are: Region I, headquartered in Huntsville; Region II, headquartered on TDCJ prison property in Anderson County, near Palestine; Region III, headquartered on the property of the Darrington Unit in Brazoria County, near Rosharon; Region IV, headquartered in the former

Chase Field Industrial Complex Chase Field Industrial Complex , formerly Naval Air Station Chase Field, is a former naval air station located in unincorporated Bee County, Texas, near Beeville, Texas. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates a group of facilities collec ...

(a TDCJ property) in Beeville; Region V, headquartered in Plainview; and Region VI, headquartered on TDCJ property in Gatesville.

Correctional institutions

Most of the TDCJ prisons are located in the historic cotton slavery belt around the former location of

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

's colony. Counties that have housed adult correctional facilities, such as Brazoria, Fort Bend,

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places * Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missou ...

, and

, once had slave majority populations. Many of the largest

prison farm A prison farm (also known as a penal farm) is a large correctional facility where penal labor convicts are forced to work on a farm legally and illegally (in the wide sense of a productive unit), usually for manual labor, largely in the open ai ...

s and prison properties in the state, including Goree Unit, the Jester units,

Polunsky Unit Allan B. Polunsky Unit (TL, formerly the Terrell Unit) is a prison in West Livingston, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, United States, located approximately southwest of Livingston along Farm to Market Road 350. - Note the 2010 U.S. Cen ...

, the Ramsey units, and Wynne Unit, are located in those counties. The state of Texas began building adult prisons outside of the historic cotton belt in the 1980s.Perkinson, Robert. '' Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition.

Metropolitan Books Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. Currently, the company publishes in the fields ...

, 2010
5657
. Some units have employee housing; most employee housing was constructed prior to the TDCJ's early to mid-1990s prison expansion. As of 2008, of the 22 units that are staffed below 80% of their employee capacities, eight (36%) of the units have officers' quarters. As of that year, the TDCJ requested funding from the Texas Legislature for three 80-bed officers' quarters to be built next to three prisons that the agency considers to be "critically staffed." An employee who obtains a residence in a state-owned house on or after September 1, 1997, pays $50 per month during the fiscal year of 1998, and for each subsequent year, 20% of the fair market rental valuation of the property. A resident of state-owned bachelor officers' quarters or a renter of a state-owned mobile home lot pays $50 per month. SmithvilleSugarLandTXHouse

The Texas Prison System purchased its first prison farm in 1885. The oldest TDCJ units still in operation, originally established between 1849 and 1933, include Huntsville Unit (1849), Wynne Unit (1883),

Jester I Unit The Beauford H. Jester I Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice substance abuse felony punishment facility (SAFPF) located in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas. The unit is situated at Harlem Road and Ken Drive, on about of land, co- ...

(1885, brick building in 1932), Vance (Harlem/Jester II) Unit (1885, brick building in 1933),

(1893), Ramsey (I) Unit (1908), Stringfellow (Ramsey II) Unit (1908), Central Unit (1909, rebuilt in 1932), Goree Unit (1907), Darrington Unit (1917), Eastham Unit (1917), and Scott (Retrieve) Unit (1919). In addition, the Hilltop Unit uses buildings from the former

Gatesville State School The Gatesville State School for Boys was a juvenile corrections facility in Gatesville, Texas. The facility was converted into two prisons for adults, the Christina Crain Unit (formerly Gatesville Unit), and the Hilltop Unit.

, a juvenile correctional facility, making the Hilltop Unit's prison facility the third-oldest correctional facility still-used in Texas after the Huntsville and Jester I.Hilltop warden, employees work to restore facility’s former glory
" ''Texas Department of Criminal Justice''. September–October 2005. Retrieved on July 24, 2010. "A TDCJ facility since June1981 that now houses more than 600 female offenders, Hilltop is among the oldest state prisons still in use in Texas. Only the Huntsville "Walls" Unit and the Jester I Unit near Richmond predate Hilltop." The largest TDCJ prison is the

, with a capacity of 4,021 inmates. The largest female prison is the Christina Crain Unit, with a capacity of 2,013 inmates. Originally, many Texas prison farms had no cells; the prisoners were housed in racially segregated dormitory units referred to as "tanks". In the 1960s, the Texas Prison System began referring to the prisons as "units". Chad R. Trulson and James W. Marquart, authors of ''First Available Cell: Desegregation of the Texas Prison System'', said that the word unit was a

euphemism A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes ...

that probably was intended to refer to progressive penal practices, professionalism, and a distancing from a legacy of racism.

=State jails

State jails house inmates convicted of state jail felony offenses, which include lower-level assault and drug, family, and property offenses.The State Jail System Today
" Criminal Justice Policy Council. September 1998. i. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. In addition the Texas Board of Criminal Justice designated state jails as transfer units for individuals who are bound for prisons. Individuals in a state jail who are convicted of a state jail offense must be held for at least 75 days and may not be held longer than 2 years. Individuals may not parole or have mandatory supervision release from state jails. The state jail felony classification was created in 1993 as part of a reformation of sentencing laws. In July 1998, Texas had 18 state jails (including six privately operated facilities) with 9,023 state jail felons and 14,940 people awaiting transfer to prisons. During that year, 53.3% of state jail felons were convicted of possession or delivery of a controlled substance. As of 1998, 85% of the state jail felons had prior arrest records, and 58% of the state jail felons had previously never been incarcerated. The highest level of educational programming available in state jails are

general equivalency diploma The General Educational Development (GED) tests are a group of four subject tests which, when passed, provide certification that the test taker has United States or Canadian high school-level academic skills. It is an alternative to the US high ...

classes.

=Psychiatric units

= The TDCJ operates three psychiatric units, including

Jester IV Unit The Wayne Scott Unit (J4), formerly known as the Beauford H. Jester IV Unit, is a psychiatric facility of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice located in unincorporated Fort Bend County, Texas, east of Richmond. It is a part of the Jester St ...

,Grissom, Brandi.
Trouble in Mind
" ''

''. March 2013. Volume 41, Issue 3. p. 192 Skyview Unit, and the John Montford Psychiatric Unit. As of March 2013, the units are at capacity. Brandi Grissom of the ''Texas Monthly'' said, "So acute is the need for psychiatric prisoners that if Texas built a fourth facility, it would be full as soon as it opened."

Intake and unit assignment

The State Classification Committee and designated Classification and Records Office staff members assign each institutional prisoner to his or her first unit after the prisoner completes his or her tests and interviews; offenders are not allowed to choose their units of assignment. The state assigns each state jail offender to the unit closest to his or her county of residence. Death-row offenders and offenders with

life imprisonment without parole Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...

enter the TDCJ system through two points; men enter through the

Byrd Unit The James "Jay" H. Byrd Jr. Unit (DU) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison for men located in Huntsville, Texas, Huntsville, Texas. The diagnostic unit, established in May 1964, is north of Downtown Huntsville on Farm to Market Road ...

in Huntsville, and women enter through the Reception Center in Christina Crain Unit, Gatesville. From there, inmates with life without parole sentences go on to their assigned facilities. Male death-row offenders go to the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, and female death-row offenders go to the

.Death Row Facts
" Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on August 15, 2010.

Transportation

The prisoner transportation network of the TDCJ is headquartered in Huntsville. As of 2005, the network has 326 employees, including 319 uniformed employees. The TDCJ's regional prisoner transportation hubs are located in Abilene,

, Beeville, Huntsville, Palestine, and Rosharon. Of the transportation hubs, the Central Region hub in Huntsville transports the largest number of prisoners to the greatest number of units. The Abilene hub controls the largest land area.More than 500,000 prisoners transported annually Bus Stop: Transportation officers keep offender traffic moving
" Texas Department of Criminal Justice. March/April 2005. Retrieved on October 26, 2010. Prisoners in the general population are seated together, with prisoners handcuffed in pairs. Prisoners in administrative segregation and prisoners under death sentences are seated individually; various restraints, including belly chains and leg irons, are placed on those prisoners. Each prisoner transport vehicle has two urinals and two water dispensers. As of 2005, all of the transportation vans and half of the chain buses have air conditioning.

Offender rules

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has the ''Offender Orientation Handbook,'' a guidebook explaining the rules prisoners are required to follow, posted on its website in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. Individual prisoners receive formal orientations and copies of the manual after undergoing initial processing. The manual has 111 pages of rules of behavior. It is intended to establish governance over all aspects of prison life. The prison rule system is modeled on the free-world penal system, but it does not have judicial review and rights. The number of regulations has increased due to court orders, incidents, and managerial initiative.Perkinson, Robert. '' Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition.

, 2010. p
33
. Robert Perkinson, author of '' Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire'' (2010), wrote that the ''Offender Orientation Handbook'' "encapsulates the weary institutional dream of imposing perfect discipline on potential chaos" and that the "sweeping and tedious rules" "cover a bewildering range of restrictions and obligations." As examples Perkinson referred to the "no fighting," "offenders will brush their teeth daily," and "horseplay is prohibited," which he refers to, respectively, as "sensible," "well meaning," and a "catchall." Perkinson said that in practice, "totalitarian order" is not established in the prison because the "churlish" inmates do not have the inclination and "often," the reading ability to follow the "finer dictates" of the handbook, and the correctional officers, "moderately trained, high-turnover stiffs earning Waffle House wages," do not have the energy and time to enforce the rules strictly. According to Perkinson, the handbook is never consistently or fully enforced, but it is invoked by officials whenever a daily conflict occurs. In case of an escalated dispute, officers submit a "case" and an inmate or multiple inmates appear in front of a court described by Perkinson as "makeshift."Perkinson, Robert. '' Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition.

, 2010. p
3334
. Perkinson explains that several federal court orders have shaped the prison courts, which "have all of the trappings of adversarial justice," including a defense counsel (a correctional officer appointed by a presiding major), physical evidence, and witnesses. According to Perkinson, though, "the house the prosecution)rarely loses."Perkinson, Robert. '' Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition.

, 2010
34
. Jorge Renaud, a man who served as a prisoner in Texas's state prisons, said usually when an inmate is charged with a prison offense, the sole question to be determined is the severity of the punishment to be given to the inmate. Smoking is prohibited at all TDCJ facilities. On November 18, 1994, the Texas Board of Criminal Justice voted to ban smoking at all TDCJ facilities, beginning on March 1, 1995. The

Holliday Unit The Holliday Transfer Facility (TDCJ Identification Code: NF, also referred to as the Holliday Transfer Unit),

in Huntsville already had a smoking ban in place prior to the TDCJ system-wide ban.Power, Stephen.
At tobacco-free prison, a smoke's expensive
" ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

''. December 18, 1994. 2A. Retrieved on July 23, 2010.

=Offender dress code

= Offenders in all TDCJ units wear uniforms consisting of cotton white pullover shirts and white elastic-waist trousers. The TDCJ requires prisoners to wear uniforms so they can easily be identified and to prevent correctional officers from forming associations and giving preferential treatment to any prisoners.Renaud, Jorge Antonio. "Clothing." ''Behind the Walls: A Guide for Families and Friends of Texas Prison Inmates''.

University of North Texas Press The University of North Texas Press (or UNT Press), founded in 1987, is a university press that is part of the University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as ...

, 2002
19
Retrieved from ''

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

'' on July 24, 2010. , . The TDCJ retired clothing with belts and buttons and introduced trousers with expandable waists. Shoes worn by prisoners may be issued by the state or purchased from the commissary. Male prisoners must be clean-shaven, unless they have been approved to grow a 1/2 inch religious beard, a provision that went into effect August 1, 2015. Usually their hair is required to be trimmed to the backs of their heads and necks. TDCJ-CID says that "Female offenders will not have extreme haircuts."Frequently Asked Questions – Correctional Institutions Division
" Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on July 28, 2010. In 2016, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that religious inmates such as Muslims are allowed to grow 4-inch beards as well as wear religious clothing, so long as prisoners do not hide contraband. Inmate with longer hair are inspected by shaking their hair with their fingers. Prisoners must have hair cut around their ears. Native American prisoners, since 2019, received the right to wear long hair after court action. Robert Perkinson, author of '' Texas Tough,'' says that the uniforms make prisoners "look like shapeless hospital orderlies." Jorge Renaud, a former prisoner, states that the uniforms are part of the prison system's depersonalization process.

=Book review

= The TDCJ reviews books to determine whether they are appropriate for prisoners. In 2010, the agency disclosed that it reviewed 89,795 books, with 40,285 authors represented. The agency did not disclose how many of those books were banned. The system's banned list includes some novels that were written by

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

winners, Nobel laureates, and

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winners, and some books of paintings made by notable artists.Dexheimer, Eric.
Banned in Texas prisons: books and magazines that many would consider classics
" ''

Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

''. Saturday January 30, 2010. Updated Friday March 19, 2010. Retrieved on May 14, 2010. The ''

'' and the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely by advertising ...

'' compiled lists of some books that have been banned by the TDCJ, noting some are considered classics of the literary canon.

Prisoner release

The TDCJ uses regional release centers for male prisoners.Schiller, Dane.
Walking free - now what?
''

''. May 9, 2010. Retrieved on May 10, 2010. Most male prisoners are released to be closer to their counties of conviction, approved release counties, and/or residences. Male prisoners who have detainers, are classified as sex offenders, have electronic monitoring imposed by the

, and/or have certain special conditions of the Super Intensive Supervision Program are released from Huntsville Unit, regardless of their counties of conviction, residences, and/or approved release counties. Regional release facilities for men include the Huntsville Unit, the William P. Clements Jr. Unit near Amarillo; the Hutchins State Jail in Hutchins, near

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

; the French M. Robertson Unit in Abilene; and the William G. McConnell Unit near Beeville. All female prisoners who are not state jail prisoners or Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility prisoners are released from the Christina Crain Unit (formerly the Gatesville Unit) in Gatesville. Rick Thaler, the director of the Correctional Institutions Division, predicted in 2010 that the Huntsville Unit, which serves as the regional release center for

greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Co ...

, would remain the TDCJ's largest release center despite the decrease of traffic of released prisoners.New regional release centers now operating across state
" Texas Department of Criminal Justice. September–October 2010. Retrieved on March 1, 2011. State jail offenders are released from their units of assignment. All people released receive a set of nonprison clothing and a bus voucher. State jail offenders receive a voucher to their counties of conviction. Prison offenders receive $50 upon their release and another $50 after reporting to their parole officers. Released state jail offenders do not receive money.General Information Guide for Families of Offenders
" Texas Department of Criminal Justice. July 2008. 26-27. Retrieved on June 29, 2010. Inmates in Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facilities are also directly released.

=History of prisoner release

= Prior to September 2010, most male prison offenders were released from the Huntsville Unit. Throughout the Huntsville Unit's history, 90% of the male prison offenders in the TDCJ were released from the Huntsville Unit. House Bill 2289 by Jerry Madden, which created the regional release system, specified that prisoners will not be regionally released if the TDCJ believes that it is not in the best interest of the prisoner or that regional release of that prisoner would threaten the safety of the public. According to the bill, the implementation date was September 1, 2010. Male inmates with health and mental health difficulties and sex offenders are still universally released from Huntsville.Emison, Celinda.
State prisoner release order could come within two weeks
" '' Abilene Reporter News''. April 21, 2010. Retrieved on October 3, 2010.

Death row

The TDCJ houses male death-row inmates in the Polunsky Unit and female death-row inmates in the Mountain View Unit. The Huntsville Unit is the location of the state of Texas execution chamber. The Polunsky death row has about 290 prisoners. As of March 2013, eight male death-row prisoners are housed in Jester IV Unit, a psychiatric unit, instead of Polunsky. The state of Texas began housing death-row inmates in the Huntsville Unit in 1928. In 1965, the male death-row inmates moved to the

Ellis Unit O. B. Ellis Unit (E1, previously Ellis I Unit) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison located in unincorporated Walker County, Texas, north of Huntsville. The unit, with about of space, now houses up to 2,400 male prisoners.

. In 1999, the male death row moved to Polunsky. In the 1923-1973 period, Texas state authorities had three female death-row inmates; the first, Emma "Straight Eight" Oliver, was held at Huntsville Unit after her 1949 sentencing, but had her sentence commuted to life imprisonment in 1951.Jackson, Bruce and Diane Christian. ''In This Timeless Time: Living and Dying on Death Row in America''.

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

, 2012. , 9780807835395. p
143
Mary Anderson, sentenced to death in 1978,O'Shea, Kathleen A. ''Women and the Death Penalty in the United States, 1900-1998''.

Greenwood Publishing Group Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...

, 1999. , 9780275959524. p
340
was held at Goree Unit. Her death sentence was reversed in 1982, and the sentence was changed to life. Entrance to TDCJ Mountain View Unit

Health care

The

University of Texas Medical Branch The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is a public academic health science center in Galveston, Texas. It is part of the University of Texas System. UTMB includes the oldest medical school in Texas, and has about 11,000 employees. In Febr ...

provides health care to offenders in the eastern, northern, and southern sections of Texas. The

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) is a public medical school based in Lubbock, Texas, with additional campuses in Abilene, Amarillo, Dallas, El Paso and the Permian Basin. TTUHSC serves more than 100 counties in the ...

provides health care to offenders in the western part of Texas. In addition, private corporations provide healthcare services. Hospitalized offenders may go to the Hospital Galveston Unit, the Montford Unit in

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

Lubbock County Lubbock County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census placed the population at 310,639. Its county seat and largest city is Lubbock, Texas, Lubbock. The county was cre ...

, or area hospitals. In 1993, Texas State Comptroller John Sharp proposed that the TDCJ end its healthcare department and transfer responsibilities to the universities to reduce costs. During that time, most TDCJ prison units were in south and east Texas, and UTMB was to provide for the care of 80% of the managed care for TDCJ, while Texas Tech was to provide the remaining 20%. In September 1994, UTMB and Texas Tech took responsibility for 3,000 healthcare workers and a $270 million budget. In 2011, the board considered ending its contract with UTMB and having regional hospitals provide care for prisoners. In 2018, the department said it needed an additional $281 million in its 2020 budget to provide the required minimum amount of health care. To save money, the department rarely provides prisoners dentures, finding it cheaper to simply produce a blended diet in such cases. As of 2017, 2.3 million incarcerated Americans depend on prisons for their healthcare. These incarcerated individuals face limited access to medical exams and prescriptions medications compared to the general population as they are not eligible for Medicaid while incarcerated. On top of that, inmates face fees for seeking medical treatment. In 35 states, inmates have medical co-payments which come out of their commissary accounts (made up of prison job payments and contributions from their family). The copays are enforced to prevent inmates from abusing the healthcare system, however, it becomes a burden on inmates whose job makes little to no money and can become a financial strain on the family.

Private Healthcare in Public Facilities

In some prisons, the healthcare is private which can drastically change how inmates are treated. As of 2012, more than 20 states switched over to private health care providers in order to cut back on costs. These states don't have to provide benefits and pension costs to state workers, since they are hiring private companies, which significantly reduces the price they pay. However, this calls into question the quality of care inmates receive and many human rights groups in addition to federal judges are investigating these private companies. The TDCJ has a 120-bed medical facility at

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Ga ...

. In 1987 the Texas Legislature voted in a ban on most cosmetic surgery for prisoners, and UTMB began denying such in 1989.

Private Healthcare in Private Facilities

The two largest private prison companies, CoreCivic (formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America) and the CEO Group, run over 170 correctional facilities. In Texas, they have five facilities. These companies keep their operating costs low by using less dollars than allocated per inmate, especially in the area of Healthcare. Additionally, these companies and similar ones, avoid taking inmates over 65 or with chronic illnesses. When they can't avoid it, they improvise ways to make it hard for the inmate to receive medical care. Specifically, CoreCivic has a history of denying hospital requests and punishing inmates when they make repeated requests. Additionally, the records of private prisons are not subject to public access laws. For these reasons, access to health care in private prisons is something that must require more scrutiny.

Requesting Care

Requesting care in prison systems involves a simple procedural checklist that must be met in order to see any type of medical professional. Firstly, an incarnated person must fill out Sick Call Request form that should be answered within a 48-hour time period. After 48 hours, If there is no response, the person is to advance to fill out an I-60 form which states general issues faced. If the process continues to yield no approval, a Step 1 Grievance is to filled out. This level of documentation is very strictly reviewed. Continuing to hear no response for an extended period of time indicates the time to advance to a Step 2 Grievance. After these options, the prisoner may now file a lawsuit for ‘exhausting administrative remedies.’ A Sick Call Request form is a specified form that is specific towards what was wrong with the inmate medically. The progression to an I-60 form leads to a more generalized form that addresses seeing a doctor, contact visit, address changes and the like. A Step 1 Grievance are very strict and viewed very critically with certain guide-lines such as: only one problem can be addressed per grievance, only one grievance per week, must be reported within 15 days, and must be written with proper language. This form alone may take up to 40 days to be processed. A Step 2 Grievance is directly reviewed by TDCJ health committee and will have a response by 35 days. If these options are still not satisfactory, the inmate is then allowed to file a lawsuit because he/she has "exhausted administrative remedies." Care through these methods is possible but is still a timely cost. Depending on how the prisoner is, the time between signing a form and receiving medication can mean life or death. Even though there is a defined process for requesting medical care in prison systems, the prisoner is still trying to fill out theses forms while considered ‘sick.’ Along with this, the prisoners are expected to cover the costs associated with filing out these expensive papers. For the first healthcare visit in a year, an inmate will be charged one-hundred dollars to their trust fund. However, there are still instances where the inmate would not have to attend to cost of care such as chronic illnesses, follow-up visits, emergency treatments, etc. Most visits to a medical professional costs inmates $2–8, in which they use they copay to relief these costs. At first, this rate sounds not too harsh but an important factor to put in is how much inmates earn. For most inmates, a wage is consistent of maybe a few cents per hour. This small set could mean that it would take an inmate a very long time before a "checkup" can be "bought". Fortunately though, care is not restricted if one does not have the necessary funds. Additionally, University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) decided that the easiest and most cost-effective way to dole out prescription medications to inmates was to distribute it from their own pharmacy. This pharmacy is based in an unmarked building in Huntsville, TX and serves 130 facilities throughout the state, including juvenile facilities, by filling over 20,000 prescriptions per day. Orders are sent out through an electronic medical record system and are processed with custom made conveyor belts and automated machines. The pharmacy has a 24-hour next-business-day turnaround ensuring medications can get to inmates as soon as possible.

=History of Healthcare

= Healthcare in Texas was mostly straight forward. Not much of it was changed over time due to its simplicity. One aspect that did change was how the cost of healthcare for incarcerated persons fluctuated. An issue that was prominent in prison systems was the associated costs with treatment. For this reason, the Correctional Managed Health Care Committee (CMHCC) was established in 1993. This committee focused their attention to the rising costs of healthcare today and how that effects inmates inside custody. The CMHCC hopes to open a statewide managed health care plan giving offenders the ability to afford care with timely access.

Mental Health

The decline of mental health treatment within detainees has become a major concern in the prison system, especially in the Texas prison departments. While the Texas Department of Criminal Justice claims that most of its facilities are capable of treating mental health issues, this does not seem to be the case. Texas provides at least 20% of inmates mental health treatment and this small percentage could be explained by the shortage of volunteers and staff to provide these mental treatments. There is also failure to recognize mental symptoms and make a correct diagnosis for these detainees. Lack of mental aid has increased serious assaults and violent behaviors in which most of these cases have been declined by the Bureau of Prisons for “privacy reasons.” Policies have been changed by the Bureau of Prisons to increase check-ins by once a month or weekly. However, the TDCJ has attempted to minimize these issues as best as it can. Detainees are offered guidelines on how to manage their stress and sanity before being released to the public. In terms of support and care, there is the Offender Grievance Program that allows offenders to communicate with faculty staff about questions, regards, or concerns associating with their sentence. In addition, the TDCJ Ombudsman Program makes referrals to an agency staff to help resolve problems and answer questions regarding a specific offender. The Peer Recovery Support Services hold classes to allow prisoners to help one another recover from their issues. Those that obtain a certificate from the program are eligible to work or volunteer as a Peer Recovery Support Specialist. This further build a community-based environment where prisoners can understand each other's mistakes and problems and cooperate as a team to provide solutions to better themselves. Specific programs are held for detainees that are of a particular background and history. The Chaplaincy Program is a nondiscriminatory program that permits prisoners to pursue their religious faiths, reconcile relationships, and strengthen families. The program offers mentoring, space for spiritual growth, pastoral care, life skill classes, accountability/support groups, etc. Similarly, the “InnerChange” Faith-Based- Pre-Release Program functions in the same way as the Chaplaincy Program to further help detainees recover well. For younger offenders, the Youthful Offender Program aids young offenders with special needs to the Mentally Retarded Offenders Program (MROP) or Physically Hanicapped Offenders Program (PHOP). Regular youth offenders are placed in interdisciplinary programming established on a weekly schedule, including: * education * social skills training * anger management * values development * goal setting * cognitive restructuring * substance abuse education * conflict resolution * aggression replacement * and life skills.

Recreation and Fitness

Leisure activities are meant for enhancing potential life skills post-release and allowing inmates an opportunity to complete one or two activities of their choice. In terms of recreation and fitness, inmates have the chance to participate in structured fitness sessions that offer regular and moderate levels of exercises monitored by staff. Staff members are to take into account the kind of activity the detainee wants to do, the amount of time spent on that activity, and given permission. These fitness sessions occur in the “Big Yard,” where gym equipment is stored and common past time favorites are held, such as volleyball, baseball, softball, wrestling, basketball, tennis, handball, boxing, and soccer/futbol. The yard is surrounded by a barbed-wire fence for extra supervision. During a detainee's time in prison, they are given a physical assessment that focuses on cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, body fat percentage, and dynamic strength. To further sharpen community-building skills, inmates are eligible to run special fitness and health events, including: * Run/Walk Marathons * Health fairs; health book fairs * Nationally recognized health events In addition to these health events, inmates have the opportunity to educate themselves in other health and sanity organizations. Staff will provide discussions concentrating on: * Weight management * Stress management * Human anatomy * Aerobic exercises * Smoking cessation * Back pain relief * Nutrition Ultimately, prisoners are able to utilize these resources to make them better returning members of society.

Incarceration of women

The Correctional Institutions Division has eight main facilities, including five prisons and three state jails, that house women; Five of the women's units,Gately, Paul
Former Downtown Waco Executive Director Moved to Gatesville
" ''

KWTX-TV KWTX-TV (channel 10) is a television station in Waco, Texas, United States, serving Central Texas as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Belton-licensed CW affiliate KNCT (channel 46). Both stations share studios on ...

''. November 22, 2008. Retrieved on May 20, 2010. including four prisons and one state jail, are in the City of Gatesville. Jorge Renaud, author of ''Behind the Walls: A Guide for Family and Friends of Texas Inmates'', said that female prisoners in the TDCJ generally "undergo the same tribulations, are affected by the same policies, must adhere to the same regulations, and are treated the same by TDCJ staff." Originally, women were housed in the Huntsville Unit.Perkinson, Robert. '' Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition.

, 2010
93
. "Conditions at the Walls provoked criticism, as well, particularly with respect to female prisoners." Beginning in 1883, women were housed in the Johnson Farm, a privately owned cotton plantation near Huntsville.Perkinson, Robert. '' Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition.

, 2010
132
. After Governor

Thomas Mitchell Campbell Thomas Mitchell Campbell (April 22, 1856April 1, 1923) was the 24th Governor of Texas, serving two terms from 1907 to 1911. He was an attorney and businessman, working as a manager for the International-Great Northern Railroad before entering ...

took office in January 1907, he moved the women from Johnson to the Eastham Farm (now Eastham Unit) to try to protect women from predatory prison guards.Perkinson, Robert. '' Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition.

, 2010
144
. For a period in the early 20th century, Eastham housed women before a sexual abuse scandal caused the Texas prison system to move women closer to Huntsville.Perkinson, Robert. ''Texas Tough: The Rise of America's Prison Empire''. First Edition. Metropolitan Books, 2010. p
43
. Before the prisons in Gatesville opened in the 1980s, women in the Texas prison system were housed in the Goree Unit in Huntsville.
" Texas State Library & Archives Commission. Retrieved on July 18, 2010. In 2010, a study from the

National Women's Law Center The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) is a United States non-profit organization founded by Marcia Greenberger in 1972 and based in Washington, D.C. The Center advocates for women's rights and LGBTQ rights through litigation and policy initiati ...

and the Rebecca Project for Human Rights ranked the Texas prison system as giving "B+" care to women. A 2018 report by the

Texas Criminal Justice Coalition Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

stated that women in the TDCJ have fewer career-training and employment programs available than men; women had only two certification programs, while men had 21. In 2019, the Texas Senate passed a bill, allowing inmates to have access to a greater variety of feminine hygiene products. They have access to various sized tampons and pads and can receive up to 10 free products per day.

=Texas Prison Nurseries

= There is currently no standard policy for what happens when a woman gives birth while incarcerated, because only recently have states begun to ban the shackling of pregnant women during active labor and childbirth. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has created an initiative in collaboration with the University of Texas Medical Branch, called BAMBI (Baby and Mother Bonding Initiative). Within this program, eligible offenders will be provided with an opportunity to bond and form attachments, "...which is important to healthy growth and development, socialization, and psychological development during the infant’s formative years, while in a safe and secure environment." However, all mothers within this program are only allowed to remain in it for 12 months. After this period they must have completed their sentence, and be prepared to transition back into society. The University of Texas Medical Branch found through their research with the BAMBI program that, "As the number of women giving birth in prisons continues to trend upward, the need for more programs to promote hebest outcomes for both mother and infants is crucial." On average, about 250 babies are born to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The Santa Maria Hostel provides a residential setting for these mothers and their infants. However, compared to other states, Texas' prison nursery system is limited in accessibility to mothers and infants. Texas has one of the highest populations within its prisons, but resources to women and their infants is still limited. On September 1, 2009, two laws were passed in the 81st Texas legislature. One prohibited the use of restraints on female prisoners during childbirth. The other asked that the counties write and implement procedures in regards to the health of their pregnant inmate population. Another law was passed in 2019 that stipulated that pregnant inmates cannot be shackled at all during their pregnancy or when they are recovering after childbirth. As there is no set policy for how long a mother can remain with her infant after birth, the other proposal that has yet to be passed would allow 72 hours of bonding time if the inmate does not qualify for the BAMBI program. Also, it mandates more formal training for officers to protect the physical and mental safety of pregnant inmates. Prison nurseries are imperative for both the wellbeing of the child and the mother. The CDC reported that infant mortality rates for "...babies separated from their incarcerated mothers is 7.9 infant deaths per 1,000 live births for Hispanic inmates and 14.3 for Black inmates. By comparison, the national infant mortality rate is 5.96 deaths per 1,000 live births." Thus, there is also a racial component to the treatment of pregnant women within the Texas prison. This may have to do with the fact that Texas prison healthcare does not offer screenings and treatments for high-risk pregnancies. They also lack resources to implement policy to give expectant mothers advice on nutrition, activity level, and safety. In addition, records of pregnancies and deliveries do not have to be written, and thus this could be another factor to explain the higher infant mortality. Unfortunately, in the general population within Texas, black non-Hispanics families were disproportionately affected by infant mortality. The prison trend follows the societal trend of infant mortality, which shows that there are disparities both within the prison system and the general population in terms of healthcare and preventative care.

Correctional officer training

The TDCJ maintains training academies in Beeville, Gatesville, Huntsville, Palestine, Plainview, and Rosharon. Trainees who do not live within a commuting distance to the training academies take state-owned housing, only if room is available.

Demographics

In 1974, the TDC had about 17,000 prisoners; 44% were black, 39% were non-Hispanic white, 16% were Hispanic and Latino, and 1% were of other races. About 96% were male and 4% were female. At the time, all 14 prison units of the TDC were in

Southeast Texas Southeast Texas is a cultural and geographic region in the U.S. state of Texas, bordering Southwest Louisiana and its greater Acadiana region to the east. Being a part of East Texas, the region is geographically centered on the Greater Houston ...

Parole Division

The TDCJ Parole Division supervises released offenders who are on

, inmates in the preparole transfer program, and inmates in the work program. The division also investigates proposed parole plans from inmates, tracks parole eligible cases, and submits cases to the

. The division does not make decisions on whether inmates should be released or whether paroles should be revoked. The TDCJ Parole Division has its central office in Austin.

Halfway houses

The parole division contracts with several agencies which operate

halfway house A halfway house is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or substance use disorder problems to learn (or relearn) the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. As well as serving as a ...

s. Organizations that contract with the TDCJ include

GEO Group The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) is a publicly traded C corporation that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in North America, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company's ...

(previously

Cornell Corrections Cornell Companies (NYSE:CRN) was an American corporation that operated correctional facilities, contracting them to state and local governments. The company's headquarters were located in Houston, Texas. On August 12, 2010, Cornell was acquired b ...

), Southern Corrections, Wayback House, E.P. Horizon Management, L.L.C., and Avalon.Directory - Halfway House
" Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on August 31, 2010. As of 2004,e nine halfway houses are in Texas. According to state law, former prisoners must be paroled to their counties of conviction, usually their home counties, if those counties have acceptable halfway-housing facilities available. Most counties do not have such facilities available. As of 2004, three facilities accept sex offenders and parolees from other counties; they are the halfway houses in

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

, El Paso County, and Houston.Bardwell, S.K.
Legal exception brings state's sex offenders here / Parolees placed at halfway house often remain in town
" ''Houston Chronicle''. Saturday May 22, 2004. A12. Retrieved on August 31, 2010. The Ben A. Reid Community Corrections Center, a halfway house operated by GEO and previously operated by Cornell, is located in the former

Southern Bible College Southern Bible College was a coeducational Bible college in Houston, Texas. The East Texas District of the Pentecostal Church of God wanted a regional educational facility in Greater Houston, so the facility opened in 1958. The facility received a ...

facility in Houston. As of 2004, the facility housed almost 400 parolees; 224 of them were subject to

sex offender registration A sex offender registry is a system in various countries designed to allow government authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences. In some jurisdictions, registration i ...

. Because of aspects of state law and because of a shortage of halfway houses, almost two-thirds of the sex offenders were from outside of Harris County. Reid is the largest of the three halfway houses that take sex offenders and out of county parolees, so Reid gets a significant number of paroled sex offenders. Cornell operates a halfway house in

, which as of 2004 houses 170 people. Horizon Management, L.L.C. operates the El Paso facility in

El Paso County, which houses 165 people. In addition, Wayback House operates the Wayback House in Dallas, E.P. Southern Corrections operates the Austin Transition Center in Austin, and Avalon operates the Fort Worth Transitional Center in Fort Worth.

Community Justice Assistance Division

The Community Justice Assistance Division supervises adults who are on

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

. In 1989, the 71st Texas Legislature began using the term "community supervision" in place of the term "adult probation." CJAD has its central office in the Price Daniel, Sr. Building in Austin.

Enrichment programs

In the 1990s, Governor

Ann Richards Dorothy Ann Richards (née Willis; September 1, 1933 – September 13, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995. A Democrat, she first came to national attention as the Texas State Treasurer, w ...

created enrichment programs for prisons. Michael Hoinski of the ''Texas Monthly'' stated that they "had helped spawn a golden age of paño-making in Texas."Hoinski, Michael. "How Prison Art From Texas Captured the Art World's Attention." ''

''. Thursday February 13, 2014
2
Retrieved on March 3, 2014. The programs were ended during the terms of Governors

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

and

Rick Perry James Richard Perry (born March 4, 1950) is an American politician who served as the 14th United States secretary of energy from 2017 to 2019 and as the 47th governor of Texas from 2000 to 2015. Perry also ran unsuccessfully for the Republica ...

, and ''paños'' are now prohibited in the TDCJ.

Other divisions

The Human Resources Division serves the AGENCY. As of August 23, 2010, the Human Resources Headquarters moved to Suite 600 of 2 Financial Plaza in Huntsville. The division was located at 3009

Texas State Highway 30 State Highway 30 (SH 30) runs from Business SH 6-R in College Station via Roans Prairie to SH 19 in Huntsville. It is known as Harvey Road between Business SH 6-R and FM 158 in College Station, as 11th Street between I-45 and US 190 (Ph ...

West. The Rehabilitation Divisions Program operates programs to rehabilitate prisoners. The division is headquartered in Huntsville. Texas Correctional Industries, a division of the TDCJ, was established in 1963 when the Prison Made Goods Act,

Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per co ...

Bill 338, passed. The division manages the production of prisoner-made products.

Prison reform

Texas state senator

served as chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee from 1993 to present. With Texas representative Jerry Madden, chairman of corrections since 2005, Whitmire helped institute prison reform in the state. The creation of drug rehabilitation programs, the reduction of sentencing for drug crimes, an increase in the number of parole officers and the creation of special courts for specific crimes helped to reduce the state prison population and even led to the first prison closures in state history.

Media

Historically, ''The Echo'' was published in the Huntsville Unit. Prisoners served as the staff and the reader base.Kimberly, James.
Security concerns silence prison newspaper

Archive
. ''

''. February 21, 2001. Retrieved on May 15, 2015. It began publication in 1928. As of 2009, it was mostly published continuously, although some periods occurred when the newspaper was not published.Stevens, Wesley. ''Learning to Sing in a Strange Land: When a Loved One Goes to Prison''.

Wipf and Stock Publishers Wipf and Stock is a publisher in Eugene, Oregon, publishing works in theology, biblical studies, history and philosophy. History Wipf and Stock was established in 1995 following a joint venture between John Wipf of the Archives Bookshop in Pasade ...

, January 8, 2009. , 9781621897965. p. 83 (

br>PT97
. In 2001, after the escape of the

Texas 7 The Texas 7 were a group of prisoners who escaped from the John B. Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas, on December 13, 2000. Six of the seven were apprehended over a month later, between January 21–23, 2001, as a direct result of the television ...

, TDCJ officials stated that the room where the newspaper was published was a security risk and suspended the publication. The TDCJ fired the four prisoners who previously were responsible for composing the issues, and the control over the publication was passed to the Windham School District.

Windham School District

The Windham School District provides offenders of the TDCJ with educational services. The district was created in 1969 to provide adult education in Texas prisons. The district was the first school system of its size to be established within a statewide prison system. Windham is one of the largest correctional education systems in the United States, providing educational programs and services in most TDCJ facilities. The school district is a separate and distinct organization from the TDCJ.

Fallen officers

Since the inception of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 65 officers and one canine have died in the line of duty.

Equipment

Current

Uniforms

Uniformed staff wear the Class A grey uniform and pant or Class B blue polo shirt and grey BDU pant. Honor Guard officers wear a ceremonial dress uniform similar to other law enforcement agencies with the TDCJ badge on the left chest area. Badges are not issued to officers outside of the Honor Guard except to assistant wardens and above; however, correctional officers are not prohibited from purchasing and displaying the badge on belts, jackets, or nonuniform clothing. Correctional training officers (academy training) wear red polo shirts as an optional uniform, which has correctional training-specific patches. Canine (K9) officers have been authorized to wear TDCJ K9 T-shirts as an optional uniform with the BDU pants. Outside field officers are permitted to wear dark grey jeans and a white TDCJ issued cowboy hat. Officers are required to wear black-colored belts with their uniforms. Officers are allowed to bring their own holsters and belt for carrying equipment that is issued by TDCJ. All equipment including OC spray, handcuffs, radios, and weapons is issued by TDCJ.

Service weapons

Smith & Wesson Model 65 The Smith & Wesson Model 64 ''Military and Police'' revolver is the stainless steel version of the Model 10. Description The Model 64 is a six-shot double-action revolver with fixed sights chambered in .38 Special. It was the second all stainle ...

Smith & Wesson M&P The Smith & Wesson M&P (Military and Police) is a polymer- framed, short recoil operated, locked breech semi-automatic pistol introduced in the summer of 2005 by the American company Smith & Wesson. It uses a Browning-type locking system. Whil ...

(K9 and Transportation) *

Remington 870 The Remington Model 870 is a pump-action shotgun manufactured by Remington Arms Company, LLC. It is widely used by the public for shooting sports, hunting and self-defense, as well as by law enforcement and military organizations worldwide. D ...

Colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

AR-15 *

Ruger M77 The Ruger M77 is a bolt-action rifle produced by Sturm, Ruger & Company. It was designed by Jim Sullivan during his three years with Ruger. The rifle features a traditional Mauser-style two-lugged bolt with a claw extractor. Design and feature ...

Former

Uniforms

The uniformed staff wore brown uniforms with black ties from 1955 to 1969. Female officers wore blue uniforms with a red ascot and were also available in a dress from 1969 to 1980. Black ties continued to be a part of the grey uniform until being removed from the uniform during the 1980s. Officers were issued metal badges for their shirts and hats until 1990, when fabric patches replaced them. Camouflage jackets and hats were briefly issued in the early 1980s, but were discontinued due to their illegible appearance.

Service weapons

Smith & Wesson Model 10 The Smith & Wesson Model 10, previously known as the Smith & Wesson .38 Hand Ejector Model of 1899, the Smith & Wesson Military & Police or the Smith & Wesson Victory Model, is a K-frame revolver of worldwide popularity. In production since 1899 ...

Colt Official Police The Colt Official Police is a medium frame, double-action revolver with a six-round cylinder, primarily chambered for the .38 Special cartridge, and manufactured by the Colt's Manufacturing Company. Released in 1908 as the Colt Army Special, t ...

Savage Savage may refer to: Places Antarctica * Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land * Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Savage Ridge, Victoria Land United States * Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community * Savage, Minnesota, a city * Savage, Mi ...

double-barrel shotgun * Ingram and

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...

submachine guns (retired 1970s) *

Winchester 1894 The Winchester Model 1894 rifle (also known as the Winchester 94 or Model 94) is a lever-action repeating rifle that became one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles of all time. It was designed by John Browning in 1894 and originally c ...

(retired in 2000)

Headquarters

The TDCJ has its headquarters in Huntsville. The administrative facility, known as the Brad Livingston Administrative Headquarters, and previously BOT Complex (for its former owner, see below), is located at Spur 59 off Texas Highway 75 North. The complex also faces

Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with the ...

. The complex includes the Central Region Warehouse and the Huntsville Prison Store. The Texas prison system had been headquartered in Huntsville since Texas's founding as a republic, and the TDCJ is the only major state agency not headquartered in Austin, the state capital.Ryckman, Lisa Levitt.
Article: A Record Year for Executions in Texas – Hunstville Residents Prefer Not To Discuss the Deaths
" ''

Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...

''. August 31, 1997. Retrieved on August 25, 2010. The complex was originally owned by Brown Oil Tools, a subsidiary of Baker Hughes.Hughes Tool Unit's Plant
" ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

''. October 30, 1979. Retrieved on July 19, 2010. Completed in 1981, the plant had a price tag of $9 million. The plant was built to replace the company's Houston plant. The plant employed 200 people. In 1987, Baker Hughes announced that it would close the plant and consolidate its operations to facilities in Houston; the company said that the Huntsville facility's large capacity caused it to be less efficient at lower operating levels. Judith Crown of the ''Houston Chronicle'' described the plant as "relatively modern" in 1987. TDCJ purchased the BOT Complex in 1989. Historically, the Huntsville Unit served as the administrative headquarters of the Texas Prison System; the superintendent and the other executive officers worked in the prison, and all of the central offices of the system's departments and all of the permanent records were located in the prison. In the two decades leading to 2011, many proposals were placed in the

to move the TDCJ headquarters to Austin. One reason why the proposals failed was because Huntsville-area prison officials opposed the move. In the 1990s, John Whitmire, a member of the Texas Senate, made an effort to have the TDCJ headquarters moved.Ward, Mike.
Whitmire: Move prison HQ to Austin
" ''

''. August 26, 2011. Retrieved on September 28, 2011. During the last state legislative session before September 1, 2011, Texas House of Representatives member Jerry Madden decided not to ask for the TDCJ headquarters to be moved to Austin.Stark, Cody.
Ogden: TDCJ move to Austin unlikely despite senator's comments
" ''

The Item ''The Item'', formerly known as ''The Sumter Daily Item'' and ''The Daily Item'', is an independent, morning newspaper published in Sumter, South Carolina five days a week, Tuesday to Friday with a "Weekend Edition" delivered on Saturday morning ...

''. September 1, 2011. Retrieved on September 8, 2011. In August 2011 Whitmire told the ''Austin American Statesman'' that he would bring up the idea of moving the TDCJ headquarters to Austin during the next legislative session. Whitmire argued that while a Huntsville headquarters made sense when all of the prison units were in east and south Texas, since the TDCJ now has facilities around the entire state, the TDCJ headquarters should be consolidated in Austin. Steve Ogden, another state senator, said that a headquarters move is "not going to happen while I'm in office."

Prison cemetery

The Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery, the state's main prison cemetery, is where prisoners not claimed by their families are buried. It is located on of land on a hill, from the Huntsville Unit and in proximity to Sam Houston State University. It is the largest prison cemetery in Texas. Byrd's first prisoners were interred there in the mid-1800s, and the prison agencies of Texas have maintained the cemetery since then.Fernandez, Manny. "Texas Prisoner Burials Are a Gentle Touch in a Punitive System." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. January 4, 2012
1
Retrieved on January 15, 2012.

References

External links

Texas Department of Criminal Justice
**
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles

Windham School District

Texas Prison Museum

TDCJ Internal Affairs Division
(Archive) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Texas Department Of Criminal Justice State corrections departments of the United States Department of Criminal Justice Department of Criminal Justice Department of Criminal Justice Department of Criminal Justice

History

1800s

1900s

2000s and 2010s

Governance

Current board members

Major divisions

Correctional Institutions Division

Correctional institutions

=State jails

=Psychiatric units

Intake and unit assignment

Transportation

Offender rules

=Offender dress code

=Book review

Prisoner release

=History of prisoner release

Death row

Health care

Private Healthcare in Public Facilities

Private Healthcare in Private Facilities

Requesting Care

=History of Healthcare

Mental Health

Recreation and Fitness

Incarceration of women

=Texas Prison Nurseries

Correctional officer training

Demographics

Parole Division

Halfway houses

Community Justice Assistance Division

Enrichment programs

Other divisions

Prison reform

Media

Windham School District

Fallen officers

Equipment

Current

Uniforms

Service weapons

Former

Uniforms

Service weapons

Headquarters

Prison cemetery

See also

References

Further reading

External links