Prisons Texas

Here at the hub of the Texas prison network, buses and patrol cars loaded with convicts begin arriving at sunup. The bus from Fort Worth's Tarrant County jail leaves no later than 3 a.m. for the three-hour drive south to Huntsville, the first stop for all convicts sentenced to do time in a state penitentiary. The reason is simple: Every county tries to send its convicts early because the Texas prison system is so overcrowded that it could stop accepting prisoners at any time.

A Texas man on Monday asked President Bush to commute his death sentence to life without the possibility of parole, maintaining that questions remain about the fairness of the federal death penalty system. The case could mark the first time that Bush has to make a decision on the death penalty since becoming president. Juan Raul Garza, 44, was convicted of three drug-related murders in 1993.

Gov. Bill Clements signed contracts for the first privately built and operated prisons in Texas, calling it the largest private prison project ever undertaken by a state. The agreement with Becon-Wackenhut Inc. of Coral Gables, Fla., calls for the construction of two 500-bed minimum-security pre-release centers to help alleviate overcrowding in Texas prisons that forced the system to stop admitting inmates more than 20 times last year.

Under Gov. George W. Bush, the Texas prison system has now surpassed California's to become the nation's largest, a milestone reached in large part through his administration's denial of parole to the vast majority of eligible inmates. This parole crackdown and the accompanying explosion of the prison population are causing a host of problems, but supporters and detractors alike agree that the policies of Bush's handpicked parole board are popular--and smart politics.

After several delays, former Compton City Councilwoman Patricia Moore has entered a federal facility in Fort Worth, Texas, to begin serving a 33-month prison sentence for extortion and income tax fraud. Moore, who has been under treatment for depression, was assigned to the Carswell federal institution, which has a medical center for women. Last October, she was convicted of extorting more than $62,000 from two Compton businesses.

Juan Robles thinks there are two men within him. The first one, easily enraged, is racked by violent impulses, swayed by his companions. That's how, eight years ago, he landed in the penitentiary for armed robbery. The second Robles bleeds with empathy. He has a gift for easing others' pain; he responds intensely to the influence of peers. That's why he volunteers inside the prison hospice--for the shattering, redemptive work of helping ailing inmates as they die.

A riot at a West Texas prison left at least one inmate dead and as many as 20 others injured, authorities said. The riot began about 8:45 p.m. at the Preston Smith Unit in Lamesa and was under control within a few hours, the Dawson County Sheriff's Department told Lubbock television station KBCD. Twenty inmates have been taken to University Medical Center in Lubbock for treatment. No guards were involved in the melee, which included a fire.

Texas prisons began accepting inmates again Tuesday, six days after admissions were closed for the third time in a month because a state-mandated maximum prison population was exceeded, officials said. Charles Brown of the state Corrections Department said that 129 inmates were scheduled to be released Tuesday, but he did not know how many new prisoners the system would receive.

Texas' 86 prisons were ordered locked down indefinitely for a search for weapons and other illegal items after an inmate was stabbed to death in the latest in a string of major security breaches. The lockdown, ordered by the state's prison chief in Huntsville, Texas, means visitors are banned and all 122,000 inmates are confined to their cells.

A riot at a West Texas prison left at least one inmate dead and as many as 20 others injured, authorities said. The riot began about 8:45 p.m. at the Preston Smith Unit in Lamesa and was under control within a few hours, the Dawson County Sheriff's Department told Lubbock television station KBCD. Twenty inmates have been taken to University Medical Center in Lubbock for treatment. No guards were involved in the melee, which included a fire.

It's not an easy task to start with, and so much, so very much can go awry. Machine failure, human error, tricky new equipment. Sheer nerves, the media. Cramped quarters for the visitors, uncertain or unpracticed staffers. And the hardest part of all, the part only perfectible with constant practice: what to say to a condemned man as potassium chloride solution invades his blood. It's a strange, taxing craft, performing executions, and Texas, many wardens say, performs it best.

Texas' 86 prisons were ordered locked down indefinitely for a search for weapons and other illegal items after an inmate was stabbed to death in the latest in a string of major security breaches. The lockdown, ordered by the state's prison chief in Huntsville, Texas, means visitors are banned and all 122,000 inmates are confined to their cells.

Juan Robles thinks there are two men within him. The first one, easily enraged, is racked by violent impulses, swayed by his companions. That's how, eight years ago, he landed in the penitentiary for armed robbery. The second Robles bleeds with empathy. He has a gift for easing others' pain; he responds intensely to the influence of peers. That's why he volunteers inside the prison hospice--for the shattering, redemptive work of helping ailing inmates as they die.

Looking for savings in the federal budget, New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg thought he found a good target recently when he persuaded a subcommittee to cut about $550 million from states such as California that have illegal immigrants in their jails. But now the power of presidential politics is weighing in with a Democratic-Republican one-two punch. And prospects are rising that Congress will have to find its cuts somewhere else.

After several delays, former Compton City Councilwoman Patricia Moore has entered a federal facility in Fort Worth, Texas, to begin serving a 33-month prison sentence for extortion and income tax fraud. Moore, who has been under treatment for depression, was assigned to the Carswell federal institution, which has a medical center for women. Last October, she was convicted of extorting more than $62,000 from two Compton businesses.

A videotape showing prison guards kicking inmates in the groin, siccing dogs on them and shocking them with stun guns has sparked an FBI investigation into possible civil rights violations and led two states to recall prisoners who had been sent to Texas facilities to relieve overcrowding. The videotape, shot by a Brazoria County sheriff's deputy for training purposes, emerged from a lawsuit filed by one of the inmates and was broadcast Tuesday.

Some of the 95,000 inmates in the Texas penal system may be doing a slow burn after authorities decided Friday to ban smoking in the state's prisons. The unanimous vote by the Texas Board of Criminal Justice followed two hours of debate over issues including whether to allow Death Row inmates a last cigarette before their executions and whether the smoking ban would spark riots. "We're not operating the Ritz-Carlton," said board member Allan Polunsky.