Texas state legislative leadership this week told state agencies to submit a baseline budget four percent lower than the last biennium, with certain exceptions. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and prisoner costs were not among those exceptions.
In the last legislative session, TDCJ's budget "increased by $458.4 million for the 2016–17 biennium," or about 7.4 percent, to pay for employee raises and prisoner healthcare.
By contrast, a 4 percent cut in General Revenue funds would exceed a quarter of a billion dollars!* That goal can only be reached by reducing incarceration levels and closing more prisons. The employee raises cannot be reasonably rescinded, the amount given for prisoner health care fell short of the stated need, and there aren't other obvious ways to cut that the Lege didn't already avail themselves of in 2011, the last time Texas went through a revenue slump.
*~ $264 million, which is 4 percent of the $6.6 billion in General Revenue spent on TDCJ's 2016-2017 biennial budget.
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I so pray this helps the thousands of families that have been dealing with unjust parole practices for years and helps end the set of cycles that are unwarranted.
They have got to consider positive parole now, particularly for TDCJ's own category of 'elderly' inmates who are aged over 55, as well as the BPP working positively on medical parole. Texas needs more people in society earning money, paying taxes and contributing, so lifting the restrictions on what parolees and ex-felons can do for employment needs to be done in tandem with and reduction in the inmate population.
yeah, start with those inmates who are still young enough to work and have served half of their time, regardless of the crime. All they are doing is sitting there, healthy and able to be productive. Age at the crime should be considered, it's been researched that violent offenders have passed those years. GIVE them a chance, if they re-offend. throw them back and throw away the key
I say build more prisons
Having a family member or friend incarcerated is a real eye opener. You come to realize that criminal justice policy is mostly reactionary with little thought given to the consequences of handing out a harsh sentence. I know public safety is critical but giving someone a 10-year sentence costs $250,000 to the taxpayers and there are 150,000 offenders imprisoned in Texas. And the rate of incarceration in Texas is one of the highest in the country. Community supervision (parole and probation) costs just a few dollars a day, allows the offender to re-enter society, obtain work, pay taxes and support their families.
This old school "lock em up" attitude is expensive, has a high recidivism rate and devastates families. Incarceration is only one piece of the puzzle not the answer.
Linda, your tip to fix incarceration is so gratuitous. Recidivism is as much a problem as first offence.
The emotional prison reform activist is willing to let his dog out but keep the other dogs locked up.
to Anonymos who posted at 8:25 a.m. - build more prisons? Really??did you not read the suggestion that TDCJ CLOSE some of the prisons in order to save money? Besides having some of the present units understaffed, TDCJ could just transfer some of the COs to other units. Parole some of the older inmates with health problems - thereby saving $ TDCJ is spending on their health care. Some families with husbands that are in prison may receive some type of welfare benefits. If their husband was paroled he could begin to support the family financially which would reduce the amount of money spent on the welfare family.
@8:25, given the budget crunch, what do you want to cut instead? Border security? CPS reform? See here for the items state leadership said were off limits, then please tell us where to get the money to "build more prisons."
My son is in prison for 5 years for having consensual sex at 19 with a girl he met through a dating site. Unfortunately, she set her profile up as being 18 when she was a couple of months away from 15. Do we really think he's a danger to society that needs to be in prison for 5 years? Be registered as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Yes the girl admitted her she lied, she admitted to the police he had no idea. She also said it wasn't he wasn't the first you man she had "fooled". So he's in prison and she's off to college soon. His is a familiar story and one repeated time and time again in some form. How many of these kids do we have in prison for this type of ridiculous reason. How much is it costing us?
Concerned, I understand your frustration but that's a matter of sentencing reform and not something that TDCJ has any control over.
So the hug-a-thugs want to release all the pedohiles. Then the mother rapers, the father stabbers, and then the father rapers. Send them to your neighborhood buddy.
For what? It's not going to help, it will just add more too what they are spending.
Maybe if you weren't so ignorant and paid attention to what these people are talking about. These families just want their loved ones home.
Absolutely! SMH
That's ridiculous build more prisons for what!? Ignorance is bliss people don't understand people don't know unless they've been through it but when it happens to them then they will be in the same boat as us! Some people offend for just minor things and get sentenced to life long sentences some are unjustly sentenced some are unjustly crucified and they didn't even do the crime! So before you put your head in your ass and say build more prisons do your research and of course you're going to stay anonymous jerk!
And that is why they give her sentences and incarcerate our loved ones because they make so much money from it how much money do you spend a month to keep your loved one with personal hygiene and food in their mouths because the food that they get is it a crappy or only twice a day! People don't realize how much a damn fan cost to keep your loved one cool because it's 115 degrees in their cells! It's All About the Benjamins!
Fans cost $25, although indigent inmates can get them for free through a charity donation.
What confuses me is, with all the families who are affected by incarceration in Texas, why do they not vote for more progressive politicians who are more willing to change the situation?
@sw, re: voting - gerrymandering has a lot to do with it.
@8:41, you're kind of clueless. Texas releases more than 70,000 inmates per year right now. If decarceration reforms happen, we'll actually release LESS, because fewer would go in the first place. But please, don't let reality get in the way of your opinion.
@8:41
Poor boy! You appear to be so fearful of the world in which you live. Hell, if I lived in your world I'd probably be scared too! I doubt you have any fingernails left from the constant chewing you're doing.
Grow up and start thinking for yourself instead of spouting off what your daddy taught you fool. It's idiots like you that are the true dangers of our society. The old saying is still true, the guilty dog barks loudest (and often has the most to hide, i.e. Dennis Hastert et al). It's people like you who divert attention onto others so that you can remain in the dark.
Showing compassion and extending a helping hand to those less fortunate can manifest itself in so many positive ways. Try it, maybe, just maybe you still have a bit of humanity left in you somewhere.
But incarceration is state-wide Scott, so moving a boundary here and there surely wonldn't make a lot of difference.
I know not every inmate has 2 parents, but let's assume they have 2 people on average who give a damn and are eligible to vote in Texas. That's around 300,000 votes - a significant voice.
I hope this will help reform Parole and see that inmates do Change.They need to work on Rehabilitation instead of just keeping them locked up.There is also another secret prison called Civil Commitment and they are on Tax payers account and that is so Unconstitutional,those Judges need to Step up and say the Truth,Its Unconstitutional to keep people longer then their prison Time.Then they want to use the VA to pay for the inmates therapy.Senator Whitmire needs to be Removed,he is another politician who has been there too long.Along with the one running Texas Civil Commitment,named Ms.Marsha Mcclain.
Legalize marijuana and release all convicted of possession. Simple.
Anonymous, you sound like a public defender. Not much good for anything. Why don't you try thinking for yourself and do some research.
Anonymous, you sound like a public defender. Not much good for anything. Why don't you try thinking for yourself and do some research.
Give each of the 10,000 plus illegals in TDCJ a free ride to the border and a hundred dollars seed money to enable them to travel deep into their old homeland and you have saved a fortune. Maybe even a large knife so everybody can whittle and sell their crafts in the local marketplace so as to be financially viable when they get back to the village. Before the van ride everybody gets fingerprinted, DNAed and retina scanned so the police computers can identify the slow learners that want to slither back into the land of the ever oblivious gringo.
Put the sickly senior citizens that cost a fortune onto the Medicare and Medicaid roles and off the backs of those Texas taxpayers that have mastered elementary school mathematics.
The attorneys that oversee the prison and parole system should have their 7,500 dollar a year state salaries garnished to pay for this lunacy.
TIFA members should, by now, realize that nonstop meetings in local churches have done very little to alleviate the problems that never get addressed, never mind answered.
TIFA should consider a petition addressed to those federal agencies in Washington DC that bestow grant money of many types upon TDCJ and ensure that the Washington POST gets a courtesy copy of what federal money has helped build in the great southern dustbowl.
To use federal parlance "they have the need to know".
Until you walk the walk...don't talk the talk. Studies/analysis go plenyy into many legislative decisions. Claiming kinfolk abuse for stupid kinfolk acts. Last time I read...doing crime gets you your tdcj time. Stupid John and stupid Judy needs a chance to cleanup they act...otherwise they ride the carousel forever...but budget cuts is no excuses to change the time for THEY crime...
You clearly have not personally benefited from one of "those" meetings which you describe. Countless others have. They have been educated, advocated for, and received support from each other and guest speakers.
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