NCJ Number
134251
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 15 Issue: 1 and 2 Dated: (Spring/Fall 1991) Pages: 251-258
Date Published
1991
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study identifies the number of Americans in the prisons of Tamaulipas, Mexico, the prison conditions, and the impact of the "war on drugs" on Tamaulipas prisons.
Abstract
The author has studied the Mexican criminal justice system and has toured prisons in the State of Tamaulipas. He has spent extensive time in the prison yard of Reynosa State Prison to observe prison operations and interview officials and prisoners. He has also interviewed officials at Cuidad Victoria, Tamaulipas Department of Rehabilitation regional headquarters, and representatives of the U.S. State Department at the American Embassy in Matamoros, Mexico. In 1990 the author and accompanying researchers were allowed to interview inmates in Reynosa State Prison without prison officials being present. Wilkinson (1990) reported that in 1987 the Reynosa facility, a border prison, was designed for 150 inmates and housed 240. In 1990 the prison population had risen to 1,250; 25 were U.S. citizens. In 1990 the prison at Matamoros, also a border prison in Tamaulipas, held 1,000 to 1,500 inmates. The facility was built to house 250 inmates. In an effort to reduce the overcrowding in border prisons, prison officials are building two new prisons. Representatives of the U.S. State Department have attributed the prison overcrowding to successful drug interdiction efforts. Almost all of the U.S. inmates were convicted of drug offenses. The U.S. inmates reported being physically abused by the police following their arrest. Apparently this is not unusual, since Mexican inmates report abuse also. U.S. inmates generally hope to transfer out of Mexican prisons through the Mexican-U.S. treaty exchange. 7 notes and 20 references