Texas
Report: Deadly heat remains concern at Texas prisons
HOUSTON – Amid a summer season warmth wave that has pushed temperatures in some Texas prisons with out air con to 100 levels Fahrenheit (38 Celsius), many inmates concern dying or falling gravely unwell from the recent climate and imagine actions taken by officers to mitigate the harmful situations proceed to fall quick, based on a brand new report.
The report comes as the top of the Texas jail system informed lawmakers this week the oppressive working situations attributable to the shortage of air con in most of the state’s items is probably going contributing to difficulties officers are having in filling 7,000 jail job vacancies.
“With out air-conditioning or regulated temperatures, the system will proceed to be beneath excessive stress and members of the (Texas Division of Legal Justice) inhabitants will stay getting ready to potential well being emergencies. This might kill them, but when it doesn’t, it’s going to definitely degrade their well being over time,” based on a report launched this week by the Texas A&M College Hazard Discount and Restoration Heart and Texas Prisons Group Advocates, an advocacy group for inmates.
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Advocates and others have been extremely important of the shortage of air con within the Texas jail system, which has 120,000 inmates. Solely 30% of Texas jail items are totally air-conditioned.
In 2017, U.S. District Decide Keith Ellison in Houston mentioned the nation’s largest jail system was “intentionally detached” to warmth dangers and subjected inmates to “a considerable threat of great damage or loss of life.”
Ellison’s feedback got here as a part of a settlement of a lawsuit filed by inmates at one unit.
Texas is considered one of no less than 13 states within the U.S. that doesn’t have common air con in state prisons, based on the college’s report.
Within the wake of the settlement, the Texas Division of Legal Justice, or TDCJ, formalized most of the warmth mitigation insurance policies it had been following, together with offering water and ice, creating respite areas the place inmates might go to chill down and permitting inmates to buy cooling objects corresponding to followers or towels.
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However the college report known as the procedures in place “inefficient and ineffective” as they’re not designed to supply system-wide aid however as a substitute depend on overworked jail workers to supply assistance on a person foundation to inmates whereas additionally struggling by the warmth themselves.
As a part of the report, 309 Texas inmates have been surveyed about their experiences.
“I fainted 4 occasions in my cell and no stories have been filed and I obtained no medical consideration,” one inmate wrote.
Different inmates described seeing prisoners go out from exhaustion as they labored outdoors within the warmth and never being allowed to go to respite areas the place they might calm down.
“This subject is just going to proceed to worse with rising annual temperatures,” Carlee Purdum, a Texas A&M analysis professor who helped write the report, informed the Texas Home Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.
Earlier within the assembly, Bryan Collier, government director of the Texas Division of Legal Justice, mentioned within the final 10 days, the typical temperature contained in the housing areas at non-air-conditioned prisons was 91.4 levels Fahrenheit (33 Celsius), with 5 items having common temperatures over 100 levels Fahrenheit (38 Celsius).
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To date this yr, six inmates and 11 workers have been handled for warmth associated sicknesses. There have been no heat-related deaths in Texas prisons since 2012, Collier mentioned. There have been 17 deaths from 2000 to 2012, with 10 of these deaths simply in 2011, when Texas skilled a document warmth wave.
However Collier informed lawmakers the jail system has “a wide selection of issues we do to handle warmth,” together with offering further ice and water in housing areas and coaching workers to watch temperatures and shut down actions when temperatures get too excessive.
Collier informed lawmakers on Tuesday it could price about $1.1 billion to put in air con in the entire state’s jail items.
A invoice that might have required TDCJ to put in air con did not go throughout final yr’s legislative session.
State Rep. Carl Sherman, D-DeSoto mentioned air con might be offered in Texas prisons “if we have now the will to do that.”
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“That is about being politically humane,” Sherman mentioned.
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Observe Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70
Copyright 2022 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials is probably not printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.
Texas
Quinn Ewers injury update: Texas QB’s status for Mississippi State
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is not expected to play in the Longhorns’ SEC debut game against Mississippi State on Saturday as he recovers from an abdominal injury, ESPN’s Pete Thamel revealed.
Arch Manning will make his second career start for No. 1 Texas against the Bulldogs today.
Ewers was listed as questionable on the Texas football availability report, indicating that he had a 50 percent chance to play in the game, according to the SEC’s terminology.
But the expectation is that Texas will allow Ewers this week and the team’s open weekend coming up before the Oklahoma game on Oct. 12 to fully recover from the ailment.
Ewers sustained the injury in the second quarter of the Longhorns’ victory against UTSA on Sept. 14, retiring to the sideline and then the locker room for evaluation before returning to the sideline wearing street clothes.
Ewers was able to practice with the team on Tuesday, but was limited by coaches on Wednesday and then again on Thursday, as the team placed more emphasis on giving him rest.
Manning played in relief of Ewers in the UTSA game, and made his first career start the following week with Ewers sidelined, leading Texas to a win over UL Monroe.
Ewers has dealt with some nagging injuries during his collegiate career, missing time briefly in the 2022 and 2023 seasons before the abdominal issue this year.
In three games this season, Ewers has completed 73.4 percent of his passes for 691 yards and eight touchdowns.
More … Texas vs. Mississippi State score prediction by expert football model
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Texas
Top Dallas-area performers in Texas high school football, Week 5
Below you’ll find the top performances in rushing, receiving and passing from Dallas-area Texas high school football players in Week 5.
Rushing
Player, School, Yards
Allijah Harrison, Carrollton Newman Smith, 296
Greg Ard, McKinney North, 291
Christian Rhodes, Lake Highlands, 216
Jermirion Robertson, Lincoln, 214
Deondrae Riden Jr, DeSoto, 206
Ryder Grajo, Frisco Independence, 203
JT Harris, Euless Trinity, 201
Damarion Boozer, Carter, 194
Adarion Nettles, Mansfield Summit, 186
Keyzaylan Ware, Samuell, 176
Legend Bey, North Forney, 176
Tenel Hill, Lewisville, 166
Receiving
Player, School, Yards
Brock Boyd, Southlake Carroll, 213
Xavier Johnson, Richland, 208
Carlton Mims, Little Elm, 196
Dilon Tallie, Arlington Bowie, 177
Jordan Mosley, Princeton, 174
Blake Bates, Richardson Pearce, 164
Jett Hamby, Richardson Pearce, 163
Will Krzysiak, Argyle, 155
Ayson Theus, Duncanville, 153
Ja’Quavius Pipkin, Lancaster, 150
Jayden Beasley, Prosper, 143
Julius Spencer, Garland Lakeview Centennial, 141
Passing
Player, School, Yards
Keelon Russell, Duncanville, 474
Presley Harper, Richardson Pearce, 422
Drew Kates, Richland, 398
Marcus Flowers, Princeton, 389
Maguire Gasperson, Argyle, 387
Christian Hampton, North Garland, 364
Chris Jimerson Jr., North Crowley, 342
Grant Bizjack, Trophy Club Byron Nelson, 335
Brent Rickert, Rockwall, 321
Howard Fisher IV, Wylie East, 319
Edward Griffin, Coppell, 305
Jerry Meyer III, Waxahachie, 298
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
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Texas
2024 Texas Election Guide: How to register to vote and make your voice heard
At ABC13 Houston, we believe our democracy works best when everyone participates.
This year, Texas voters will cast ballots for our next president and vice president, U.S. Senator, congressional and state representatives, and decide on multiple judicial races.
Your last day to register to vote is Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.
Check your Texas voter registration | Register to vote (print, sign and mail)
Find your polling place
Texas does not offer online voter registration, but you can visit VoteTexas.gov to fill out, print, sign and mail your application. To be eligible to vote in the November general election, your registration form must be received or postmarked by the Oct. 7 deadline.
You can also register to vote in person at your local Voter Registrar’s office.
Even if you’ve voted before, you should still double-check your registration.
More than a million Texans have been removed from voter rolls since 2021, and the League of Women Voters told ABC13 that some voters have been removed if they didn’t register in the last two federal elections.
Early voting will begin Monday, Oct. 21 and run through Friday, Nov. 1.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Voting by mail in Texas is limited to voters who are:
- Ages 65 and older
- Sick or disabled
- Expected to give birth within three weeks of Election Day
- Out of the county on Election Day and during the early voting period
- Confined in jail, but otherwise eligible
- Civilly committed under Chapter 841 of the Texas Health and Safety Code
The last day to register to vote by mail in Texas is Friday, Oct. 25.
Click here to download an application to vote by mail.
What you can (and can’t) bring to the polls
All voters must present one of the following forms of photo ID:
- Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)
- Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS
- Texas personal identification card issued by DPS
- Texas handgun license issued by DPS
- United States military identification card containing the person’s photograph
- United States citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph
- United States passport (book or card)
You can still vote if you do not possess or cannot reasonably obtain one of these photo IDs. You will need to fill out a Reasonable Impediment Declaration at the polls and show a copy or original of one of the following approved IDs:
- Certified Domestic Birth Certificate or Court Admissible Birth Document
- Current utility bill
- Bank statement
- Government check
- Paycheck
- Government document with your name and an address, including your voter registration certificate
If you need assistance, voters may request help by any person other than the voter’s employer, an agent of their employer, or an officer or agent of a labor union to which the voter belongs.
You are not permitted to use a wireless communications device or any device which records audio, images or video within 100 feet of a voting station. This includes smartphones, digital cameras or sound recorders. Election judges are authorized to require anyone to turn off or deactivate any device.
While you may be excited to vote for a particular candidate, you should not wear any campaign t-shirts, buttons, hats or other accessories to the polls. This is considered electioneering, which is not permitted within 100 feet of the voting stations.
What’s on my ballot?
For a glance at what you’ll see at the top of your ballot, click here (PDF).
For down ballot races, see your county election authority’s website for details:
Harris Co.
Fort Bend Co.
Montgomery Co.
Galveston Co.
Chambers Co.
Liberty Co.
Waller Co.
Austin Co.
Brazoria Co.
Calhoun Co.
Colorado Co.
Grimes Co.
Jackson Co.
Matagorda Co.
Polk Co.
San Jacinto Co.
Trinity Co.
Walker Co.
Washington Co.
Wharton Co.
Copyright © 2024 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.
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