Items

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  2020-05-14

  Texas is spending $45 million on new coronavirus tests that prisoners are administering to themselves

  "The state purchased 300,000 oral swab tests from a months-old California company. So far, only highly-infected prisons are using them for mass testing." The test has a 10% rate of false negatives. This test was given a rapid approval by the FDA and they have said anyone with symptoms and a negative test should be retested. The worry is without accurate testing of most inmates that the virus will spread widely and quickly due to unsanitary and cramped conditions.
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  2020-05-04

  70% of Texas prisoners tested have the coronavirus. Experts say it's time for more testing and fewer inmates.

  Texas appears to have the worst outbreak of any state prisons across the nation and many relatives of incarcerated people believe the count is low. Inmates fear telling staff they don't feel well, infected and healthy people are taking showers together. As of the articles writing 1% of inmates across the state have been tested and 70% are infected with Covid. Many worry what effect this will have on the larger communities outside the correctional facilities.
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  2020-06-05

  Appeals court tosses order that required face masks, hand sanitizer for inmates at geriatric Texas prison

  Two inmates filed suit in late March asking for better practices to protect them from covid. The judge sided with the inmates but by that time the Texas Department of Criminal Justice had already enacted similar protocols across the state, though many argue they are not followed. Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, is also quoted in this article saying, he "felons deserve personal protective equipment over frontline warriors." This is the same man that was quoted on new across the nation as saying that older people should be willing to die from Covid to keep the economy open for the benefit of their grandchildren.
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  2020-06-16

  Texas prisons will accept county jail inmates again, three months after the coronavirus halted intake

  In an effort to slow the spread of Covid-19 inside of the state of Texas correctional facilities all transfers were halted in April but in beginning July 1 Texas will begin transfers. This all happens as the states case count and positivity rate begin to sky rocket. By mid July Texas becomes one of the nations three biggest hot spots.
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  2020-07-14

  Thousands of Texas prisoners still have the coronavirus. More than 25% of inmates at four units are infected.

  "Two Texas prisons each have more than 670 inmates with active coronavirus infections, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the highest counts seen at any state lockup since the pandemic began." What makes this Covid so scary in a prison is that if caught it can turn a short sentence into a defacto death sentence. For this reason many advocate early release for nonviolent offenders but Texas Governor Greg Abbott does not agree.
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  2020-07-04

  He was supposed to be in prison less than a year. Instead, he died after catching the coronavirus.

  A former Texas teacher was sentenced to a few months in prison to go through a rehab program after committing repeat DWIs. While incarcerated he contracted Covid and died. Texas has the highest mortality rate in its prisons, higher than even the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
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  2020-07-23

  The coronavirus is keeping Texas prisoners who've been approved for parole behind bars

  When people are granted parole they often are not released immediately and are required to complete programming or set up things outside of the facility for when they are released. It appears thousands of people incarcerated in Texas are being held in prison because transfers to other facilities where these programs take place are not happening in an effort to slow the spread of Covid. This article gives the details and the difference between what incarcerated people are saying and those in charge.
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  2020-08-07

  The only Texas prison reporting zero coronavirus cases is where inmates make soap. But that’s not what’s credited with protecting it.

  One prison unit in all of Texas still doesn't have any confirmed Coronavirus cases in incarcerated persons or staff. The Roach Unit attributes this to being located in a community with a low population and following the rules set out by the state for corrections facilities. Ironically, this facility is also where soap and hand sanitizer is also made for prisons. Though most prisons will not allow hand sanitizer to be given to inmates because it contains alcohol, they could drink it or use it as an accelerant to start a fire. While the warden states he is just following the rules, others say it is his strict adherence to the rules that has kept everyone healthy. Other facilities could possibly use this facility to learn from.