The Secret Society: Descendants of Crypto-Jews in the San Antonio ...

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Is There Life After Texas Prison? Fred D. West 20 March 2007 (revised May 21, 2007 What happens when someone is released from a Texas Prison or a Texas State Jail? An inmate released from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s (TDCJ) Huntsville Unit is provided a set of clothing, a bus ticket, and a report time for a parole officer. The situation is even worse for those pardoned after a lengthy prison stay. Not only do they have nothing, they have to deal with no assistance from any source (Asquith, 2007). If they have any money it is from their commissary fund in the form of a check, usually less than fifty dollars. This person will have no place to live, no employment, and no transportation beyond a one-way bus ticket to their selected home. If they are fortunate enough to have a commissary fund check it might cost them half its value to cash it. While incarcerated few have the opportunity to learn a marketable skill allowing them to find employment of any kind after release. What vocational training is offered is provided on obsolete equipment and isn’t transferable into the community. TDCJ is one of the largest employers in the State of Texas. A significant percentage of the prison population is employed by Texas Correctional Industries (TCI). Prisoners grow the food, raise the cattle, operate butcher shops, build and maintain most of the equipment used by TDCJ, operate one of the largest canning facilities in the United States, operate significant garment manufacturing facilities, and produce a variety of footwear (Texas Correctional Industries, 2007). Prisoners are also used to train and care for all the horses used throughout the TDCJ system. Inmates are not paid for their labor. Not being paid for their work and inadequate training are major reasons two out of three people released return to prison is less than two years for parole violations (CENTER ON JUVENILE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE. Texas Tough?, 2007). This paper addresses explanations for the high rate of recidivism in the State of Texas and provides suggestions from academicians, legislators, and former prisoners for reducing the high recidivism rate. A survey form with 93 questions was prepared for gathering data. Interviews with individuals were conducted using the survey form as a model for questioning respondents. 22 former prisoners were interviewed by the author for this paper. The interviews were conducted from February 16, 2007 to March 10, 2007. A few of the interviews were conducted over the telephone and the rest were conducted in person by the author. The interviews conducted in person were at 5 homeless camps around Austin, Texas. A single interview was conducted in Ojĩnaga, Chihuahua, Mexico. Telephone interviews were prearranged collect calls to me from payphones around Texas. In-person interviews were conducted at random with ex-prisoners found in homeless camps. In all cases great care was taken to protect the identity and locations of the respondents. The respondents identified these key issues to reduce recidivism: Usable education and vocational training provided in prison and state jail; Pay inmates for work performed while incarcerated; Provide pre-release employment interviews and provide employment applications; Provide free access to public transportation after release from prison; Provide temporary housing immediately after release from prison or state jail. 1
The following demographic information for the respondents is derived from the survey forms. Respondent Level of Education: Elementary or no public school education: 1 High School: 13 Some College: 7 College Graduates: 1 Respondents Vocational Training: 9 Texas Workforce Commission Contact (TWC): Of the 22 respondents 6 contacted TWC for assistance finding employment. TWC found employment for 1 of the 6 contacting TWC. Non-Criminal Employment: 11 of the 22 respondents were employed in the private sector and not engaging in any illegal or criminal activity. Criminal Employment: 11 of the 22 respondents derived all their income from illegal or criminal activity. Parole Revocation: 7 of the 22 respondents had at least one parole revocation. 3 of the 22 respondents were in violation of their parole conditions at the time of the interview. Homeless: 7 of the 22 respondents defined themselves as homeless at the time of the interview. 6 of the 22 respondents defined themselves as temporarily homeless. 9 of the 22 respondents defined themselves as not homeless. Race: Black: 9 White: 9 Hispanic: 4 Since August of 2000 Texas has the nation’s largest incarcerated population (CENTER ON JUVENILE AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE. Texas Tough?, 2007). About 3% of the population of Texas is incarcerated or controlled for criminal offenses and about 2% of the population of Texas is involved with law enforcement and corrections. In the fiscal year 2005 TDCJ incarcerated 153,000 offenders in 106 prisons, had 430,000 offenders on probation in 121 Community Supervision and Corrections Departments (CSCD), and 76,000 offenders on parole and mandatory supervision (Sunset Commission, 2007). Texas currently has 659,000 people under the control of TDCJ. There are 229,356 licensed law enforcement personnel in Texas (Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Education, 2007). TDCJ employs about 38,000 people, of which 23,500 are correctional officers (Sunset Commission. 2007). There are approximately 267,000 people involved in law enforcement and correction. These numbers exclude the employees of the 121 probation and parole offices throughout Texas. The estimated population of Texas in 2005 was 22,859,968 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). 2
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