Texas

News August 11

Breaking Out With A Bar of Soap

In Texas, prisoners are opening their cells to chat—and to riot.

By Keri Blakinger

News July 29

Will The Reckoning Over Racist Names Include These Prisons?

Many prisons, especially in the South, are named after racist officials and former plantations.

By Keri Blakinger

News July 13

How Long Can You Hide a Dead Body in a Prison Cell?

Mental-health problems, short staffing plague a Texas lockup in COVID lockdown.

By Keri Blakinger

Feature July 1

Their Unlikely Alliance Began at Whataburger. Can They Reform a Texas Jail?

When COVID-19 threatened the jail in Tyler, Texas, an activist pressured her sheriff to make change.

By Maurice Chammah

News July 1

Did “Live PD” Let Police Censor Footage?

Police asked the show to edit out officers using violence or bad language. The company says it had other reasons for not airing the footage.

By Cary Aspinwall and Sachi Mcclendon

Coronavirus May 30

First Came The Pandemic, Then Came the Raw Sewage

As if coronavirus wasn’t bad enough, plumbing problems are making life in some Texas prisons even more miserable.

By Joseph Neff and Keri Blakinger

Coronavirus May 11

Ewwwww, What Is That?

Coronavirus has made Texas prison food even more gross.

By Keri Blakinger

Coronavirus May 4

Prisons Are Coronavirus Hotspots. This Town’s Got Five of Them.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” says the former mayor of Palestine, Texas.

By Keri Blakinger

Coronavirus May 2

“We All Have An Expiration Date”: The Death of a Prison Writer

Among the many incarcerated people who have died from COVID-19 was Marshall Project contributor Timothy Bazrowx, one of Texas' best chroniclers of prison life.

By Maurice Chammah

Coronavirus April 30

Texas Prison Officers: We Asked For Face Masks In 2017. COVID-19 Got Here First.

A state spokesman says the system has more than 100,000 N95 masks, but it’s unclear how many have been given to officers or prisoners.

By Keri Blakinger