Opinion
To some it’s just jail house religion, but to others prison ministry is a path to hope
For some prisoners, faith is part of a return to a more productive role in society.
MIDWAY, TEXAS - MARCH 12: Christian prisoners pray in a day room at the Ferguson Unit, a Texas State Prison, on January 15, 1997 in Midway, Texas.(Andrew Lichtenstein / Corbis via Getty Images)
By Deacon José Trevino explores the most critical issues facing our communities. The first series focuses on
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As the director of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas Prison Ministry, I am blessed to be part of what many consider to be one of our diocese’s most challenging assignments. I say I am blessed because I believe that ministry to the incarcerated helps me and those who assist in this effort to fulfill our mission on earth to love thy neighbor, even when it is not easy.
Spurred by The News’ inquiries, Texas prisons will release heat logs at state lockups
The state agency will disclose outdoor heat readings at its lockups after The Dallas Morning News obtained years of previously unreleased records.
Rep. Carl O. Sherman, Sr., D-DeSoto, stands outside a mock cell the Texas Prison Air-Conditioning Advocates set up in South Austin the week of April 19, 2021. The group invited lawmakers and the public to experience what it feels like to experience the heat behind bars.
The Dallas Morning News inquired about secrecy surrounding the records.
The state prisons department does not measure indoor heat levels at most of its lockups, many of which have no or only partial air conditioning. In 2019, it began refusing to make public the hourly measurements taken outside its facilities, citing ongoing lawsuits. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton backed the agency, denying a records request submitted in October.
Police: Woman who escaped jail captured after chase through Dallas County
By FOX 4 Staff article
DALLAS - An escaped inmate is back in custody after police said she led them on a chase Thursday night.
Officers in Seagoville, southeast of Dallas, said a woman driving an SUV around 11 p.m. matched the description of an escapee from the community corrections center near the Hutchins State Jail in southern Dallas County.
She led them along Interstate 45, Highway 67 and Interstate 20, often driving on the wrong side of the road.
State troopers, Dallas County sheriff’s deputies and Mesquite police all helped in the pursuit.
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.