NCJ Number
149476
Journal
American Jails Volume: 7 Issue: 4 Dated: (September-October 1993) Pages: 11- 14
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The 1980 decision by a Federal judge in Texas, in which he ruled that the State's entire prison system was unconstitutional by virtue of its overcrowding, lack of medical staff and treatment, inmate classification methods, access to courts and legal counsel, and poor maintenance, led the State Legislature to pass the Prison Management Act of 1983.
Abstract
That Act was the beginning of the "Revolving Door Syndrome of Criminal Justice," in which the Governor was empowered to release inmates 4 months early in their parole process. The Texas Department of Corrections was forced to close its doors to new inmates 22 times in 1987 alone, in order to avoid exceeding the 95 percent capacity ceiling imposed by the judge. In September 1987, the Department implemented a scheduling plan for prison admissions, under which officials were allowed to receive 150 inmates into the system per day, while simultaneously releasing 150 inmates per day. In 1989, the Legislature passed the Criminal Justice Omnibus Reform, which reorganized the State's probation commission, parole and pardons board, and department of corrections into the Texas Criminal Justice Board. The nine- member board was designed to address the movement of the convicted felon through the system. Nevertheless, the State's jails and prisons remain overcrowded and felons are being released early; the solution to this problem has yet to be found. 8 references