Credit: Martin do Nascimento for The Texas Tribune
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As Texas braces for its notoriously scorching summer temperatures, the state House agreed to install air conditioning in dozens of uncooled prisons within seven years but only if lawmakers specifically set aside money for it.
On Thursday night, the Texas House initially passed a bill that would require all Texas lockups to be cooled over a seven-year span, capping costs at $300 million. But the state prison agency would only have to abide by the measure if lawmakers also agree to specifically provide state or federal funds toward cooling costs. The bill still needs to clear a final vote in the House Friday before moving to the Senate.
09/04/2018 08:38 am ET
Jim Carrey Made A Movie About Me. Here s What It Didn t Show About Life In Prison.
The inspiration for I Love You Phillip Morris has been in solitary confinement for over 22 years.
Guest Writer
I’ve spent more than 22 years of my life living in a 6-by-9-foot concrete box, deep in the heart of Texas. Think about that for a second. Why have I been put here? Well, originally I was sent to prison for insurance fraud. Four prison escapes later, I’m now serving a 144-year sentence in solitary confinement. If I die in here, it will just mean moving into a smaller box.
Social distancing and other contagion protocols are difficult behind bars, but an investigation by WFAA and The Marshall Project showed that the spread of COVID-19 behind bars was also due to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice s lackluster response, potentially exacerbating outbreaks and putting surrounding communities at risk.
The agency s website lists the prisoners who have died from the virus. Below is a list of those people, including Campos.
Among the list are four people who officials removed from the agency s official county of coronavirus-related deaths, even though they had tested positive for the disease. Those four are: Nichole Perez, Floyd Thomas Scott, Matthew Clayton Pouncey and Elias Villanueva, Jr.
took me awhile to kind of appreciate it or to understand it. those three things that god exists and he is wise and that he loves me made me not really care a great deal whether or not i spent the rest of my life in there. so if i was going to get out, it was like if you want me out, get me out. first time i met john raley, i was on the michael unit. we didn t have to talk through the glass. we sat down at a table. at one point john excused himself to go to the restroom and he had left his sports jacket left folded up on the table. and it was it took every little bit of will power i had to not reach out and touch it because it looked so soft and comfortable.
exists and he is wise and that he loves me made me not really care a great deal whether or not i spent the rest of my life in there. so if i was going to get out, it was like if you want me out, get me out. first time i met john raley, i was on the michael unit. we didn t have to talk through the glass. we sat down at a table. at one point john excused himself to go to the restroom and he had left his sports jacket left folded up on the table. and it was it took every little bit of will power i had to not reach out and touch it because it looked so soft and comfortable. it looked so good. i cross examine people for a living.