Prisoners

Texas death chamber execution gurney. (credit: AP)

Report: Handfull Of States Have Bulk Of Executions

Just four states carried out more than three-fourths of the executions in the United States this year, while another 23 states have not put an inmate to death in 10 years, an anti-capital punishment group reports.

2012/12/18

U.S. Border Patrol guards on an air boat navigating along the U.S. side of the Rio Bravo in search of illegal immigrants, as seen from Piedras Negras city, Coahuila state, Mexico. (credit: Omar Torres/AFP/Getty Images)

130+ Inmates Escape From Prison On Texas Border

fficials said Tuesday they have found three inmates thought to have escaped through a tunnel at a northern Mexico border prison, lowering the number of escaped prisoners to 129.

2012/09/18

The inside of a jail cell. (credit: AP Photo)

2012 Shaping Up As Deadly Year For Texas Prisons

With four months still remaining, 2012 is already the deadliest year in more than a decade in Texas prisons. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has reported 10 homicides this year, up from only three in 2011.

2012/09/03

Van Loaded With Inmates Crashes On Interstate

An accident along Interstate-30 in Arlington Tuesday morning involved a van loaded with inmates from the Tarrant County Jail. There were two inmate vans traveling on the highway during morning rush hour, and then traffic backed up near Fielder Road.

CBSDFW.COM–2012/08/14

A guard watches as inmates prepare for a work detail at the minimum-security Texas prison. (credit: Joe Raedle/Newsmakers)

Texas Inmate Numbers Down

Texas historically has one of America’s highest incarceration rates per capita but has slipped to its lowest level since 2008, falling to fourth overall among the 50 states.

2012/08/12

Texas Lawmakers Consider Changes To Prison Care

Proposed cuts to the health care provided to Texas prisoners could make the system unconstitutionally inadequate, experts warned lawmakers Monday.

2012/07/10

Family Files Suit Over Texas Inmates & Air Conditioning

A North Texas family has filed a federal lawsuit against the state, after a man died in a prison that didn’t have air conditioning. Larry Gene McCollum suffered heat stroke last summer, while serving time at the Hutchins State Jail in Dallas.

2012/06/27

Former Texas Prison Cook Wants Last Meal Continued

A former Texas inmate who cooked the final meals for hundreds of condemned prisoners is offering to start doing it again at no cost to the state now that officials have ended the practice of allowing the special last requests.

2011/09/26

Texas Prisons Can’t Stop Cell Phones At Cell Walls

Texas State Senator John Whitmire calls it the most unusual phone call of his life. “Nothing shocks me anymore, but this would probably take first prize for the biggest, unbelievable story,” said the Senator from Houston. “No Texan should have to worry about getting a call from an inmate.”

2011/06/13