Criminal Sentencing and Incarceration in Texas

The Texas criminal justice system has taken the traditional tough-on-crime theories to an extreme, and now 1 in every 20 adults in Texas is under the control of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (either in prison or on probation or parole supervision, just one rule-violation away from being sent to prison). 

Texas spends over $5 billion on the Texas prison system every two years, but it is never enough because each year more Texans are sent to prison than the year before.  Today, Texas keeps hundreds of inmates in county jail beds because our prisons are full.  County jails are also overflowing in every urban area in Texas, and the county jail budget makes up the largest and fastest-growing piece of most Texas county budgets.

But has Texas' tough-on-crime approach worked?  Texas has no better crime rate than other states that do not imprison so many residents.  In fact, research shows that incarceration makes non violent offenders worse criminals, increasing the number of crimes and the number of victims in our communities.  It is time for Texas to re-evaluate who it is putting behind bars.

U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Louisiana Death Penalty
Decision is a victory for child advocates and death penalty opponents. Read More...

ACLU Supports Release of DNA Lab Report under Texas Public Information Act
The ACLU Foundation of Texas has submitted a letter brief to the Attorney General Opinion Committee advocating for the release under Texas open records laws of a trial exhibit made up of a DNA lab report from a capital trial. Read More...

ACLUTX 2008 Summer Intern Announcement
The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Texas is accepting applications for summer 2008 law internships. The ACLU is one of the nation's foremost defenders of civil liberties and civil rights. We are a nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending the Bill of Rights through litigation, legislation, and public education. The Texas affiliate of the ACLU, founded in 1938, is headquartered in Austin, and includes a regional office in Houston and thirteen chapters with over 17,000 members statewide. Read More...

ACLU Executive Director Testifies at Criminal Jurisprudence Committee Organizational Meeting
Will Harrell, the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas (ACLU), has been invited by the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee to give testimony at the committee’s organizational meeting today. Harrell will focus mainly on his position as it pertains to penalty enhancement. The meeting will be held at 2pm today in room E2.016. Read More...

Why shouldn't non violent drug offenders be incarcerated?
Incarcerating non violent drug offenders tends to make them more hardened criminals, making it more difficult to break the addiction and more likely that they will commit more crimes. Read More...