News

When summer heat hits my Texas prison

High temperatures and scarce air conditioning cause tempers to flare for prisoners and guards alike.

by Cesar Hernandez August 9, 2024June 17, 2025

High temperatures and scarce air conditioning cause tempers to flare for prisoners and guards alike.

News

Texas’ plantation prisons: Inside a 200-year history of forced labor shrouded in secrecy

Punishments, injuries, and deaths—including from heat—on TDCJ farms are more hidden than they were in the years following convict leasing.

by Josephine Lee and Michelle Pitcher, The Texas Observer July 20, 2024July 27, 2025

News

Anti-death penalty group wants probe of San Antonio company that made Texas’ execution drug

SA-based Rite-Away supplied the state with execution drugs even though the company faced issues with state and federal regulators, according to an NPR story.

by Sanford Nowlin July 11, 2024February 25, 2025

News

Texas’ lockdown of its overheated state prisons is worsening an already volatile situation

Experts warn that the crackdown, which began Sept. 6, will only exacerbate already inhumane conditions inside Texas prisons.

by Brandon Rodriguez and Michael Karlis September 20, 2023March 21, 2025

News

Texas prisons enter statewide lockdown. Officials won’t say how long it will last.

Critics argue that the lockdown will only exacerbate the already-dire conditions in the state’s prisons.

by Brandon Rodriguez September 7, 2023May 20, 2025

News

After 10 days, dozens of Texas prisoners remain on hunger strike protesting solitary confinement practices

Although the number of men refusing food has steadily declined, 38 are still starving themselves to protest Texas policies that often keep prisoners in isolation for years or even decades.

by Jolie McCullough, The Texas Tribune January 21, 2023August 17, 2023

News

More than 70 Texas prisoners are 3 days into a hunger strike protesting harsh solitary confinement practices

Prisoners have refused food to protest practices that have kept more than 500 people in isolation for more than a decade.

by Jolie McCullough, The Texas Tribune January 14, 2023August 17, 2023

News

Prison contractor MTC accused of billing Texas millions for inmate treatment programs it didn’t provide

Before being released on parole, most Texas prisoners must complete treatment programs like life skills or addiction therapy. Private prison operator Management & Training Corporation allegedly stopped providing the services, but kept taking the money.

by Jolie McCullough, The Texas Tribune November 25, 2022June 23, 2025

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Best of San Antonio Nominations are Now Live

TDCJ

When summer heat hits my Texas prison

Texas’ plantation prisons: Inside a 200-year history of forced labor shrouded in secrecy

Anti-death penalty group wants probe of San Antonio company that made Texas’ execution drug

Texas prisons enter statewide lockdown. Officials won’t say how long it will last.

After 10 days, dozens of Texas prisoners remain on hunger strike protesting solitary confinement practices

More than 70 Texas prisoners are 3 days into a hunger strike protesting harsh solitary confinement practices

Prison contractor MTC accused of billing Texas millions for inmate treatment programs it didn’t provide

Texas empties prison to prepare to detain immigrants arrested during ramped-up border enforcement

After sweltering temperatures killed Texas prisoners, lawmakers vote to install air conditioning

Texas Inmates Report Poor Heating in Nearly 20 Prisons During Winter Storm

600 Prisoners Transferred During Harvey Will Be Transferred Again Due to Lack of AC

Texas Says It’ll Allow Air Conditioning for 1,000 Prisoners

San Antonio Man Who Killed Cop Scheduled For Execution Tonight

Audit questions state criminal history database