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Prisoners throughout Texas are readying themselves to ship a dramatic message to jail officers and state lawmakers: We received’t eat till you deal with the state’s harsh solitary confinement practices.
For a couple of yr, a bunch of prisoners has been organizing assist inside and out of doors jail partitions to push the state to restrict which individuals are stored in solitary confinement and for the way lengthy, in keeping with an impartial activist working carefully with the boys.
Texas’ solitary confinement practices are a number of the harshest within the nation, in keeping with Michele Deitch, director of the Jail and Jail Innovation Lab on the College of Texas at Austin. Hundreds of prisoners are stored remoted for prolonged intervals of time, their solely human contact the occasional brush of a hand via their meals slot whereas receiving a dinner tray or being handcuffed for sometimes uncommon journeys to the bathe or a caged out of doors space for solo recreation.
In November, 3,141 prisoners have been held in solitary confinement, which the Texas Division of Legal Justice calls restricted housing or safety detention, in keeping with the company. Greater than 500 of them had been there for a minimum of a decade.
Primarily, the imprisoned males argue they shouldn’t be stored in isolation for years and even many years solely as a result of officers recognized them as jail gang members, even when they haven’t had any behavioral points in lockup.
After ready months for jail officers or state legislators to reply to their listing of proposed modifications with out success, the boys are planning to steer a wide-scale starvation strike starting Tuesday — the primary day of Texas’ legislative session.
It’s unclear what number of prisoners will take part within the starvation strike, however activist Brittany Robertson estimated Friday that greater than 300 males held in solitary confinement in additional than a dozen prisons throughout Texas had signed on to the protest.
TDCJ spokesperson Amanda Hernandez stated the company was conscious of the deliberate starvation strike, and jail officers have been carefully monitoring these in solitary “to see if there’s a change of their consuming habits.” Hernandez didn’t reply to questions on potential coverage modifications or negotiations with prisoners.
The prisoners’ proposals are much like a settlement settlement reached in federal court docket following a two-month starvation strike in 2013 in opposition to California’s solitary confinement practices. In 2015, after years of prisoner-led litigation and legislative hearings prompted by the widespread protest, California agreed to now not place individuals in solitary based mostly solely on their gang standing, nor would it not maintain individuals in isolation indefinitely.
Each practices are nonetheless in place in Texas.
“This sort of indefinite placement in these settings is actually a type of torture,” Deitch stated, citing worldwide human rights requirements that outline greater than 15 days of solitary as torture.
Psychiatry specialists have agreed that solitary confinement harms any prisoner, and particularly these with present psychological sicknesses. A 2015 examine by Texas civil rights organizations argued the state’s overuse of solitary confinement was unnecessarily costly to taxpayers, elevated crime and jail violence, and induced hundreds of mentally in poor health individuals to additional deteriorate.
Nonetheless, the variety of Texas prisoners stored in isolation was a lot greater. Fifteen years in the past, greater than 9,000 prisoners have been housed in solitary directly, in keeping with TDCJ. The quantity has been shrinking steadily, as the consequences of solitary confinement on prisoners, the big majority of whom will sooner or later reenter the free world, have turn into higher recognized.
“The company is dedicated to persevering with decreasing the variety of inmates in safety detention by diverting them previous to coming into restrictive housing and offering efficient applications that provide pathways for inmates to depart segregation,” Hernandez stated.
The TDCJ spokesperson stated prisoners are assigned to solitary solely after in depth critiques and are then reviewed often for reassignment to the overall jail inhabitants. She added that prisoners are positioned in solitary provided that they’re escape dangers, have dedicated violent assaults or severe offenses in jail, or are confirmed members of harmful jail gangs.
The latter standards is what’s prompting the starvation strike effort.
“The TDCJ’s declare that inserting [gang] members in [restricted housing] is important for the protection and safety … has been disproven by a number of different states and the federal bureau of prisons nationwide who handle these teams and permit them to stay on the whole inhabitants,” the prisoners wrote of their proposal.
Deitch harassed that jail gangs, typically organized by race, are extraordinarily harmful and trigger main violence inside prisons. However she nonetheless believes the modifications steered by the prisoners are cheap.
The prisoners would change Texas insurance policies from “status-based” to “behavioral-based,” placing individuals in solitary for severe guidelines violations, not merely gang membership. Their proposal would additionally create agency timelines for individuals to get out of solitary, and create new pathways for reentry into the overall jail inhabitants.
Deitch and the prisoners’ proposal declare the present evaluate hearings are a joke, with Deitch saying prisoners will be stored in solitary as a result of they’ve a gang-related tattoo, even when they’ve proven good conduct.
Presently, there’s a reentry program for confirmed gang members, however it could take years to enter and require prisoners to incriminate themselves or identify different gang members, they stated.
“You can be seen as a snitch for having to surrender names,” Deitch stated. “So there’s lots of people who don’t wish to undergo that course of as a result of it’s harmful and it’s extraordinarily laborious to get into.”
Robertson and a number of other present and former Texas prisoners hope the starvation strike will make them a negotiation desk with jail officers and lawmakers, much like what occurred in California.
A Wisconsin jail rights activist who communicates with dozens of males in Texas solitary, Robertson famous the rising crises inside Texas prisons largely due to short-staffing and the pandemic, together with poor meals high quality and portion sizes, an absence of showers or recreation time for these in isolation, and a excessive variety of suicides. TDCJ reported 61 suicides in 2021 and 49 via November of final yr, in contrast with 35 in 2019.
“These males can’t afford a 10-year court docket battle,” Robertson stated, referring to California’s authorized battle for modifications to solitary practices. “They need assistance now.”
Disclosure: The College of Texas at Austin has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan information group that’s funded partially by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Monetary supporters play no position within the Tribune’s journalism. Discover a full listing of them right here.
Amid his first visit to Taiwan, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced on Sunday the opening of a Texas-Taiwan trade representative office in Taipei to strengthen business and economic ties between the state and island.
Taiwan-based companies have been expanding into Texas for years, specifically in the semiconductor and petrochemical industries. Totaling $21.3 billion in 2023, Taiwan is Texas’ seventh-largest trade partner, according to Abbott.
One of the notable expansions is by GlobalWafers, a Taiwan-based semiconductor silicon wafer company, which announced in 2022 plans to build a state-of-the-art silicon wafer factory in Sherman, Texas. This facility, expected to be the first of its kind in the United States in over two decades, aims to address the semiconductor supply chain issues in the U.S. by reducing the reliance on imported silicon wafers from Asia. This project is anticipated to create around 1,500 jobs and significantly bolster the state’s local economy.
During a visit to Taiwan on Sunday, Abbott announced the opening of the State of Texas Taiwan Office (STTO), making it the 23rd U.S. state to open an office in Taipei. The STTO, which will operate under Texas’ Economic Development & Tourism Office, was announced in an effort to strengthen business and economic ties between the state and island, with the Republican governor also signing a letter of intent.
Newsweek has reached out to Abbott’s office via email for comment.
“We understand, both in Texas and in the United States, the importance of a strong Taiwan for the future of the entire globe. One of the best things that we can do to strengthen Taiwan and strengthen its future is by expanding our economic ties, so that Taiwan grows even stronger economically,” Abbott said on a stage with Taiwan Minister of Economic Affairs Jyh-Huei Kuo.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Abbott praised the opening of the office and wrote on Sunday morning, “Taiwan President Lai welcomed our Texas delegation in Taipei. We also announced the opening of a trade representative office for the State of Texas. We do BILLIONS in trade with Taiwan. The country was very hospitable.”
According to Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, Texas is an important trading partner as the Lone Star state is the ninth largest export market, with exports exceeding $11.5 billion in 2023.
“During this trip you will open the state of Texas-Taiwan office and sign an economic development statement of intent. I assure that the office will create new and trailblazing opportunities for an even stronger collaboration between Taiwanese and US businesses,” Lai said, according to Taiwan News.
However, the announcement comes as tensions between Taiwan and China continue to grow.
In May, Lai faced China’s largest-scale military exercises in nearly two years. It comes as a response to Lai’s inauguration speech as he asserted that “the Republic of China Taiwan is a sovereign, independent nation,” adding it is “an important link in the global chain of democracies.” While Taiwan has been independently governed since 1949, China views the island as part of its territory and hasn’t ruled out the use of force to unify the nations.
In addition, China has said it would launch a war if Taiwan were ever to officially declare independence. Lai, like his predecessor, former President Tsai Ing-wen, has maintained that there is no need to do so, as Taiwan is already an independent state.
Last week, China issued a no-sail zone warning in waters near Taiwan.
Maritime Safety Administration of China’s eastern Zhejiang province issued the navigational warning for a “military exercises” in the East China Sea from Wednesday to Friday as China’s military deployed 22 aircraft and six vessels.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Tropical Storm Beryl is expected to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday before making landfall in Texas sometime Sunday night into early Monday morning.
The latest update on the storm’s track and timing is a little different from what we were seeing on Saturday and it will have an impact on what we see in North Texas.
The timeline for Beryl making landfall has moved up in the latest models.
We are now looking at Beryl making landfall around 1 or 2 a.m. near Matagorda, about 100 miles southwest of Houston.
On Saturday morning, the pressure dropped, meaning it is strengthening.
Infrared satellite shows the storm is becoming more organized as it slowly moves toward the coast.
The winds have not strengthened at this time, but they likely will in the coming hours.
Beryl will likely be a Category 1 hurricane by the time it makes landfall.
Right now, Beryl’s projected path shows the storm making landfall in Matagorda, between Corpus Christi and Houston.
Significant storm surge is expected along the coast with some areas to see between 3 and 6 feet.
Hurricane warnings and storm surge watches and warnings are in place.
Once it makes landfall, it will lift to the north and then eventually to the northeast.
The National Hurricane Center has narrowed its cone of uncertainty, meaning it has honed in on the areas it expects to be affected.
Because Beryl looks to have taken more of a northeast turn and the projected path has moved east, much of the Metroplex will not be impacted by the storm.
We are now focusing on the areas to the east and southeast of Dallas.
A flood watch is in effect until Tuesday for those areas.
Still keep an eye on the forecast, because it will be feast or famine, depending on where you live.
The east and southeast of the Metroplex could see 4 to 7 inches of rain. Areas west of I-35 will see minimal impact.
HOUSTON (AP) — Beryl was hurtling across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on a collision course with Texas, forecast to pick up strength and regain hurricane status before nearing the coast Sunday and making landfall the following day with heavy rains, howling winds and dangerous storm surge.
A hurricane warning was declared for a large stretch of the coast from Baffin Bay, south of Corpus Christi, to Sargent, south of Houston, and storm surge warnings were also in effect. Other parts were under tropical storm warnings.
“We’re expecting the storm to make landfall somewhere on the Texas coast sometime Monday, if the current forecast is correct,” said Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “Should that happen, it’ll most likely be a Category 1 hurricane.”
As of Saturday night, Beryl was about 330 miles (535 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi and had top sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).
The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean earlier in the week. It then battered Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, toppling trees but causing no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula.
Texas officials warned people along the entire coastline to prepare for possible flooding, heavy rain and wind.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who is acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is traveling in Taiwan, issued a preemptive disaster declaration for 121 counties.
“Beryl is a determined storm, and incoming winds and potential flooding will pose a serious threat to Texans who are in Beryl’s path at landfall and as it makes its way across the state for the following 24 hours,” Patrick said Saturday in a statement.
Some coastal cities called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas that are prone to flooding, banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling on the Fourth of July holiday weekend to move recreational vehicles from coastal parks.
Mitch Thames, a spokesman for Matagorda County, said officials issued a voluntary evacuation request for the coastal areas of the county about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Houston.
“Our No. 1 goal is the health and safety of all our visitors and of course our residents. I’m not so much worried about our residents. Those folks that live down there, they’re used to this, they get it,” Thames said.
In Corpus Christi, officials asked visitors to cut their trips short and return home early if possible. Residents were advised to secure homes by boarding up windows if necessary and using sandbags to guard against possible flooding.
Traffic has been nonstop for the past three days at an Ace Hardware in the city as customers buy tarps, rope, duct tape, sandbags and generators, employee Elizabeth Landry said Saturday.
“They’re just worried about the wind, the rain,” she said. “They’re wanting to prepare just in case.”
Ben Koutsoumbaris, general manager of Island Market on Corpus Christi’s Padre Island, said there has been “definitely a lot of buzz about the incoming storm,” with customers stocking up on food and drinks — particularly meat and beer.
“I heard there’s been some talk about people having like hurricane parties,” he said by telephone.
In Refugio County, north of Corpus Christi, officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for its 6,700 residents.
Before hitting Mexico, Beryl wrought destruction in Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Barbados. Three people were reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica.
Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writer Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, contributed.
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