Speaker of the Texas House Joe Straus recently announced that the president of the National Conference of State Legislatures has invited Representative Jerry Madden (R-Plano) to be the chairman of the Law and Criminal Justice Committee in the conference year ahead.Congrats Rep. Madden on the well-deserved recognition.
Madden served the past year on the LCJC as vice chairman, and said his new position will allow him to have more coordination with the staff and be more involved in national meetings.
“This is a great honor,” Madden said. “I’m very pleased to accept.”
Madden said the national committee allows him to keep tabs on programs implemented in other states that benefit their prisons and take those ideas to benefit the Texas prison system.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Madden to chair crimjust committee for National Conference of State Legislatures
This is a well-deserved honor, IMO, and puts state Rep. Jerry Madden, a prominent, mainstream Texas criminal justice reformer, in a nationally prominent spot where he both promote the approaches used in Texas more widely and learn more about what's being done in other states. From the Plano Star-Courier (July 26):
Does 'do nothing' Whitmire know about this? OMG, something MIGHT actually get done as far as improving the living conditions of TDCJ inmates!!...........psych...andy
ReplyDeleteThey keep tabs all right...on what NOT to do!! If they actually were serious about learning from the other states, they would feed well balanced diets, have proper medical care, pay the inmates for their work, and have a viable grievance system that isn't a tragedy and farce at the same time!!.......andy
ReplyDelete"Since the 2007 legislative session, 4,000 beds have been placed in intermediate sanction facilities, Substance Abuse Felony punishment facilities, In-Prison Therapeutic Communities and halfway house facilities.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Madden, out of 150,000 individuals incarcerated in Texas, 100,000 are non-violent offenders who have committed drug- or alcohol-related offenses."
4,000 vs 100,000 a drop in the bucket. Let's start by dismantling the MADD approach and give Rep. Madden all the support we can. At least he has an open mind and may be in a place to continue more changes.