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A hotdog with a tortilla, a cup of mush and a raw potato.
News January 20
‘Pig Slop’ No More? Texas Prisons Detail Plan To Improve Food
The move follows our investigation revealing meals of raw potatoes, moldy bread.
By Keri Blakinger
An illustration shows a man shouting behind the window of a prison cell, while smoke and fire billows out of it. The window forms the eyepiece of a set of blinders being worn by a prison guard. Static is shown coming out of a walkie talkie worn by the prison guard.
News January 9
After Deadly Prison Fires, Will the Texas Legislature Fund Safety Fixes?
Our investigations spotlighted rampant violations, like thousands of broken fire alarms and smoke detectors.
By Keri Blakinger
A woman wearing glasses and with long brown hair in a ponytail stands in front of wooden crosses and flowers.
Feature December 6
How Texas Failed To Prevent One of the Nation’s Deadliest Prison Escapes
“Staff complacency” allowed a man to break out of a prison bus — and kill a family.
By Keri Blakinger and John Tedesco
Feature February 10
The Rise and Fall of a Prison Town Queen
A family feud over drugs, money and fried fish roils the heart of the Texas prison system.
By Keri Blakinger
Known to his listeners as “Megamind,” Ramy Hozaifeh is the voice — and the driving force — behind a new radio station run from inside one of the most notorious prisons in Texas.
Death Sentences December 20, 2021
The Prisoner-Run Radio Station That’s Reaching Men on Death Row
They can’t go to classes or prison jobs, and they don’t have tablets or televisions. But they do have radios.
By Keri Blakinger
Lance Lowry, who recently retired after 20 years as a corrections officer, outside the Huntsville Unit in Texas.
News November 1, 2021
As Corrections Officers Quit in Droves, Prisons Get Even More Dangerous
Fewer guards lead to more lockdowns, rising tensions and scant access to healthcare.
By Keri Blakinger, Jamiles Lartey, Beth Schwartzapfel, Mike Sisak and Christie Thompson
News March 29, 2021
Texas Prisons Stopped In-Person Visits and Limited Mail. Drugs Got in Anyway.
Guards smuggle in most contraband, people who live in or work at prisons say.
By Keri Blakinger and Jolie Mccullough
At the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, prisoners have told their families that they have gathered snow into buckets so that they can flush dorm toilets.
News February 19, 2021
Inside Frigid Texas Prisons: Broken Toilets, Disgusting Food, Few Blankets
The deep freeze has been terrible for many Texans, but prisoners have little way to get warm.
By Keri Blakinger
News December 13, 2020
Prisoners Are Setting Fires To Protest Pandemic Conditions
But many Texas prisons don’t have working fire alarms.
By Keri Blakinger
At Briscoe Unit and many other prisons across Texas, prisoners have defeated locks using tools such as a shoelace and a bar of soap.
News August 11, 2020
Breaking Out With A Bar of Soap
In Texas, prisoners are opening their cells to chat—and to riot.
By Keri Blakinger
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