Thursday, November 19, 2009

Out for the morning: Sentencing coverage to come

This morning I'm headed up to the UT Law School to hear a couple of panels presenting to the US Sentencing Commission, then after lunch out to a Sentencing Conference held biennially for judges, prosecutors and probation officials by TDCJ's Community Justice Assistance Division. (See their agenda [pdf].) These continue tomorrow, so I should have coverage for you from parts of both events in the next few days.

Use this post as an open thread to talk about state and federal sentencing issues or whatever other criminal justice topics are on your mind until I find time to get back on the blog.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bexar County Probation is now looking for a new Chief Probation Officer.

Anonymous said...

Considering the criticism of the those who work in corrections these days, the Chief Probation Officer will be swimming in a shark tank.

Anonymous said...

There's a rumor going around that TX legislature or the powers that be in Dept. of Corrections, are going to authorize or have authorized 2 for 1 credit, i.e. 2 days credit for every day served, to certain inmates. Does anyone know if this is true? If so, does it apply to state jail inmates? Where can I find more information?

Anonymous said...

Call the Public Information Officer for TDCJ.

Anonymous said...

They better double the minimum sentences for juvenile determinate sentenced offenders then. Two for one would mean any juvenile with less than a 6 year sentence could engage in thuggish behavior in TYC, be transferred to TDCJ and get out in the same amount of time as if they did the complete 3 year minimum and completed programs.

Wow. First lower that age of majority to 19, and now this, they are really screwing with the DSO framework which has been such an effective tool.

Anonymous said...

The Ron Jackson State School -Brownwood Texas - a facility within the TYC has it's accreditation scores from ACA. They achieved their goal and then some. 100 % for mandatory standards and 99% on non-manditory standards.

Heads are waiving and the spirit of change is in the wind.

To the red head breathing dust brotha in west texas because we were out of there...,

Rightfully so... you were the reason, so deal with your community.

Good Luck RC. You Raped your community more than you did the state.

I'm sure the community will have something to say to you. Good luck.

Anonymous said...

Consider Rick Perry. He wants to continue being governor of Texas but he faces another election. The road in front of him looks very smooth but could there be a bump in the road ahead of him?. Is there a dark cloud on his horizon?

There is one situation that could cause him a problem. That one thing is TYC. If his role in the TYC saga ever came to light, some people might start scratching their heads and start wondering about this candidate.

Here are the concerns:
What did Perry know about this nasty scandal and when did he learn about it?
Did he fail to act and allow these events to play themselves out?
If he had acted, could he have prevented most of this mess from developing?
Did he obstruct action by his AG's office?
Did he act only when forced to by pressure from the press and State Senators and Reps?
When he did take action was it mostly damage control disguised as effective action?
Who was protected as this saga played out?

One story that seems to still be in the shadows is the role played by Perry's "cleaner" Jay Kimbrough. Kimbrough was brought in to run TYC during a critical period and he left that position to resume his role as Perry's chief of staff! During his time at TYC who was Kimbrough serving - the citizens or the Governor?

Are these concerns just the tip of the iceburg? Most of these issues have received at least some press attention but I have the feeling that there are other issues that have received no attention.