Texas Department Of Criminal Research Articles

Investigating the lived experiences of persons who were sentenced to the Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility: a qualitative study

The Texas Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facility (SAFPF) is a part of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) aimed at reducing crime by treating substance use disorders for individuals with felony charges. This work investigates the lived experience and shared themes of persons who attended SAFPF (N = 8) using phenomenological qualitative methods. The results highlight many strengths including connection through relationships, self-motivation, and aftercare options. Reported weaknesses included treatment provision, curriculum deficits, and operational problems. Results found numerous positive and negative aspects of the person’s lived experience that could inform policy and treatment methods of future SAFPF programs.

COVID-19 Case Fatality Rates in the Texas Prison System.

The case fatality rate (CFR) is an important metric in the correctional setting because it permits assessment of the lethality of an infectious agent independent of its underlying variations in transmissibility and incidence. Several studies have reported that incarceration is associated with both increased COVID-19 incidence and mortality. CFR, sometimes referred to as infection fatality rate for COVID-19, was used to compare mortality in a population at two points in time. A retrospective cohort study design was used to assess age-adjusted mortality among people diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Texas prison system and the Texas nonincarcerated population from January 1, 2020, through December 31, 2021. For each 6-month period under study, the Texas prison population had a substantially lower age-adjusted CFR compared with the Texas nonincarcerated population. However, in the absence of information on underlying COVID-19 severity, comorbidities, and other potential confounding factors in these two populations, it is difficult to make strong inferences based on a comparison of their CFRs. Future research, with careful attention to bias and confounding, should examine the specific health system factors that may be used to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with infectious disease outbreaks in prisons.

Service-Learning with Undergraduate Criminal Justice Majors: A Comparison of Campus and Online Students on Reflective Learning

Service-learning is an academic tool used to engage students in a hands-on approach to targeting a community need with an emphasis on reflection. While studies utilizing criminal justice students have shown that on-campus students see value in such experience, little is known about those enrolled in online criminal justice courses. The current study compared a final reflection assignment grade for on-campus and online students in a Victim Advocacy and Victimology course (within a criminal justice department) following their service-learning project on creating training on gender-based violence. No differences were found when assessing critical thinking, personal impact, or awareness of the significance of the project for on-campus and online students. The findings suggest criminal justice professors should invest more time in the creation of service-learning opportunities for online students as they can gain the same valuable experiences as their equivalent on-campus students.

Quality of Surgical Care Within the Criminal Justice Health Care System

Individuals who are incarcerated represent a vulnerable group due to concerns about their ability to provide voluntary and informed consent, and there are considerable legal protections regarding their participation in medical research. Little is known about the quality of surgical care received by this population. To evaluate perioperative surgical care provided to patients who are incarcerated within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and compare their outcomes with that of the general nonincarcerated population. This cohort study analyzed data from patients who were incarcerated within the TDCJ and underwent general or vascular surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) from 2012 to 2021. Case-specific outcomes for a subset of these patients and for patients in the general academic medical center population were obtained from the American College of Surgeons National Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) and compared. Additional quality metrics (mortality index, length of stay index, and excess hospital days) from the Vizient Clinical Data Base were analyzed for patients in the incarcerated and nonincarcerated groups who underwent surgery at UTMB in 2020 and 2021 to provide additional recent data. Patient-specific demographics, including age, sex, and comorbidities were not available for analysis within this data set. Perioperative outcomes (30-day morbidity, mortality, and readmission rates) were compared between the incarcerated and nonincarcerated groups using the Fisher exact test. The sample included data from 6675 patients who were incarcerated and underwent general or vascular surgery at UTMB from 2012 to 2021. The ACS-NSQIP included data (2012-2021) for 2304 patients who were incarcerated and 602 patients who were not and showed that outcomes were comparable between the TDCJ population and that of the general population treated at the academic medical center with regard to 30-day readmission (6.60% vs 5.65%) and mortality (0.91% vs 1.16%). However, 30-day morbidity was significantly higher in the TDCJ population (8.25% vs 5.48%, P = .01). The 2020 and 2021 data from the Vizient Clinical Data Base included 629 patients who were incarcerated and 2614 who were not and showed that the incarcerated and nonincarcerated populations did not differ with regard to 30-day readmission (12.52% vs 11.30%) or morbidity (1.91% vs 2.60%). Although the unadjusted mortality rate was significantly lower in the TDCJ population (1.27% vs 2.68%, P = .04), mortality indexes, which account for case mix index, were similar between the 2 populations (1.17 vs 1.12). Findings of this cohort study suggest that patients who are incarcerated have equivalent rates of mortality and readmission compared with a general academic medical center population. Future studies that focus on elucidating the potential factors associated with perioperative morbidity and exploring long-term surgical outcomes in the incarcerated population are warranted.

The Prevalence of Cognitive Impairment and Dementia in Incarcerated Older Adults.

In view of the growing number of older incarcerated persons in the United States, cognitive impairment represents one of the most challenging and costly health care issues facing the U.S. correctional system. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of this growing public health issue in the nation's largest prison system. In this study of a random sample of 143 older (≥55 years) adults incarcerated in the Texas prison system, we assessed-using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)-the percentage of inmates who met the MoCA thresholds for mild cognitive impairment (MCI; <23) and dementia (<18). Due to sample size limitations, our multivariable analysis assessed the binary outcome, MoCA <23. Overall, 35.0% of our random sample of incarcerated older adults in Texas met the threshold for MCI and 9.1% met the threshold for dementia. After adjusting for covariates, study participants who were Black (odds ratio [OR] = 4.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.57-10.82), Hispanic (OR = 4.34, 95% CI = 1.46-12.93), and those with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (8.56, 95% CI = 1.21-60.72) all had higher prevalence of a positive screen for MCI or dementia. Dementia was underdiagnosed in our study sample of incarcerated adults, with 15.4% of MoCA-diagnosed dementia patients having a dementia diagnosis documented in their medical records. Future studies of cognitive impairment in prisons and jails can inform health care planning and resource allocation, such as expansion of access to palliative care, advance care planning, and targeted cognitive screening in older age groups.

Mentoring Graduate Students: A Study on Academic Rejection, the Pressure to Publish, and Career Paths

Within the academic context, mentoring is a positive and ongoing relationship between a professor and student that fosters academic growth and accomplishment. Thus, mentors are crucial for graduate students in both masters and doctoral programs. Currently, there is a lack of research regarding mentorship, especially when it involves common obstacles that a student may experience such as academic rejection, the pressure to publish scholarly work, and career conversations post-graduate school. Academic rejection refers to the act of receiving a rejection for a scholarly task such as a rejection notice for a manuscript, award, grant, or even employment. Accordingly, the current study aims to qualitatively explore academic rejection, the pressure to publish, and career conversations post-graduate school using a convenience sample of 75 current faculty members who are appointed to a criminology and criminal justice department at a university or college. Themes related to academic rejection, the pressure to publish, and career conversations are discussed, as well as the implications of these themes are further discussed.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids: Considerations for forensic psychiatry, sports psychiatry, and the law

Anabolic-androgenic steroids: Considerations for forensic psychiatry, sports psychiatry, and the law

A cluster investigation of Candida auris among hospitalized incarcerated patients.

Investigate and mitigate a cluster of Candida auris cases among incarcerated patients in a maximum-security prison hospital utilizing contact tracing, screening, whole genome sequencing, and environmental sampling and decontamination. Outbreak investigation. Inpatient prison hospital affiliated with an academic tertiary referral center. Inmates of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Epidemiologic and environmental investigations were conducted including contact tracing, point prevalence surveys, and environmental sampling. Whole genome sequencing was performed on positive patient isolates. Following a clinical case of C. auris fungemia, 344 patients underwent C. auris surveillance screening. Eight (2.3%) patients were identified with C. auris colonization. All patients were male. Our index patient was the only clinical case and death. Whole genome sequencing was performed on the nine patient isolates. All isolates were clade III (Africa) and clustered together with the largest SNP difference being 21. Environmental cultures from 7 of 61 rooms (11.5%) were positive following terminal disinfection with bleach. Sites nearest to the patient were most often positive including the hospital bed rails and bedside table. The transmission cluster was successfully mitigated within 60 days of identification. Implementation of an aggressive surveillance and decontamination program resulted in mitigation of a C. auris transmission cluster among our incarcerated patients. This investigation provides valuable insight into C. auris transmission in the incarcerated population, which is not considered a classic high-risk population as well as the challenges faced to stop transmission in a facility that requires the use of shared patient environments.

Racial And Ethnic Inequalities In COVID-19 Mortality Within Carceral Settings: An Analysis Of Texas Prisons.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heightened toll on people incarcerated in prisons in the United States, with those incarcerated experiencing a higher rate of infection and mortality than the US population more generally. What is less well known is the degree to which COVID-19 outcomes differ among incarcerated populations, especially by race and ethnicity, where significant differences have been found among the US population as a whole. This knowledge gap is, in part, due to a lack of reporting of COVID-19 outcomes by race and ethnicity by most state prison systems. To shed light on this topic, we analyzed mortality patterns of the population incarcerated in Texas state prison facilities during both the year before (beginning April 1, 2019) and the first year of (beginning April 1, 2020) the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a unique data set of roster information from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and medical examiner records. COVID-19 mortality was 1.61 and 2.12 times higher for Black and Hispanic populations, respectively, when compared with the White population in Texas prisons. Strategies for COVID-19 mitigation in carceral settings, such as vaccination and decarceration, should include an equity component to minimize disparities.

Can’t Shake the Prison Guard Blues: Examining the Effects of Work Stress, Job Satisfaction, Boundary Violations, and the Mistreatment of Inmates on the Depressive Symptomatology of Correctional Officers

Many correctional officers who work in close proximity with inmates are at a heightened risk of experiencing feelings of psychological distress. We analyzed 501 surveys collected from correctional officers within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to identify characteristics of officers who are likely to exhibit signs of depression. Our findings reveal that female officers, as well as officers who work in higher custody levels, are more likely than other officers to report higher levels of depressive symptomatology. We also found that officers who experienced high levels of self-reported job-related stress were more likely to suffer from depression. Officers with attitudes favorable to the mistreatment of inmates also reported higher levels of depression. Officers who perceived their coworkers were engaging in boundary violations were no more or less likely to exhibit signs of depression. Given these findings, we conclude that organizational and supervisory support, coupled with positive incentives and employee assistance programs, may help mitigate the risks of depression for correctional officers, thereby making these salient staff more efficient and effective in the prison workplace.

Prisoners’ Rights, Resistance, and the Law in Postwar Texas Prisons

Prisoners’ Rights, Resistance, and the Law in Postwar Texas Prisons

The Carceral Universal and the Prison Particular

The Carceral Universal and the Prison Particular

Beyond the Metaphor of Slavery

Beyond the Metaphor of Slavery

Toward a History of Sexual Violence behind Bars

Toward a History of Sexual Violence behind Bars

The use of the official indigenous languages in the south african judcial system reimagined, poignant and tacit issues explored

The objects of this research are, First, to highlight the unfair language practice that is still persisting in the South African Judicial System despite the provisions contained in the democratic constitution of equitable use of all official languages. Second, to explore the variables that contribute to this appalling state of affairs where English is predominately used in the South African Judicial System. Third, to suggest possible measures that could be applied to lessen or circumvent the situation.&#x0D; The researcher investigated the following problem, The inadequate use of the official indigenous languages in the South African Judicial System, the reasons behind this practice and its consequences.&#x0D; The main results of the research are, first, English is still the predominately used language in the South African courts of law and minimal use of official indigenous languages in the judicial system is still continuing unabated. Second, language policy regarding the South African Judicial System need to be reviewed with the aim of putting emphasis on the use of official indigenous languages for various activities in the judicial system, secondly, benefits derived from adequate use of official indigenous languages in the judicial system need to be explored more so that maximal participation of people who speak these languages can be achieved. Third, the study has shown that the reason for this inadequate use of the official indigenous languages is as a result of various intertwined variables such as globalisation, economic factors, negative attitudes towards African languages and a lack of existing inclusive language policies regarding the SA judicial system. Fourth, the use English language for various purposes in the judicial system is a linguistic injustice, it portrays the South African judicial system as still not transformed but still colonised.&#x0D; The area of practical use of the research results are, all citizens who seek justice through South African judicial System, Law practitioners in South Africa, human rights organisations, university students and staff members of the criminal justice department.&#x0D; Innovative technological product, Inclusive language policy development measures&#x0D; Scope of the innovative technological product, The practice of multilingualism in the area of law.

The Depths of White Denial, Black Labor, and the Legacy of the Sugar Land 95

This essay explores white denial through the telling of one visceral story, known as the Sugar Land 95. Its history spans approximately 150 years, from the post-Civil War period through the present. The Sugar Land 95 are people whose brutalized remains were exhumed on the grounds of the former Imperial Sugar plantation in Sugar Land, Texas, while excavating the land for a new vocational public school. They are 94 men and one woman between the ages of 14 and 70, incarcerated African-Americans who died gruesomely between 1878 and 1911, laboring as convicts leased from the Texas state prison system. Convict leasing was an early pillar of the prison industrial complex. The Sugar Land 95 is a story of white supremacist brutality, erasure, and ongoing denial, a set of truths that would have been whitewashed in the here and now were it not for the persistent efforts at the grassroots to force a reckoning.

The continuity of police brutality in post-apartheid South Africa

The objects of this research are: First, to highlight that police brutality is still ongoing in South Africa despite the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa in 1994. Second, to explore the concept of police brutality and its definitional related concepts like excessive force, reasonable force, lethal force, and de-escalation. Third, to explore possible avenues of rebuilding citizens’ loss of trust and confidence in the police.&#x0D; The researcher investigated the following problems: Police excessive use of force on citizens resulting in injuries or loss of lives, understanding of reasonable force, when can police officers make use of force, a lack of proper police accountability, and citizens’ lack of trust and confidence of the police.&#x0D; The main results of the research are: first, police brutality is still ongoing in South Africa due to reported incidents of brutality in some instances resulting in loss of lives at the hands of the police. Second, a conceptualization of police/citizen partnership is needed in South Africa, benefits derived from community police need to be explored more for the understanding of all stakeholders. Third, the culture of promoting violence within and outside the police service needs to be addressed. Fourth, Police brutality is an abuse of power, it portrays police officers in a bad light seen by many as oppressive apparatus of the state designed to perpetuate immediate unlawful violence against citizens. The police service has a lot to do when it comes to winning the hearts and minds of citizens. Contemporary policing must respect the rights and dignity of citizens and enforce the law without fear or favour within the laid down the constitutional mandate.&#x0D; The area of practical use of the research are all citizens affected by crime, police and safer communities, human rights organisations, university students and staff members of the criminal justice department

The Execution of Whites for Crimes Against Ethnoracial Minorities

AbstractThis article extends Michael L. Radelet’s 1989 study of rare cases in which Whites have been executed for committing capital crimes against Blacks to include an assessment of White executions involving Latinx and Asian victims. The threefold aim is to (1) establish the frequency of such rare cases, and (2) explore the extent to which status characteristics (beyond race, ethnicity or gender) are present for these rare events; and (3) offer social dominance theory as a viable explanation for the patterns found in the data. An analysis of unique data from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows that out of 570 executions imposed between April 1982 and July 2020, only six cases led to the execution of Whites for crimes against Blacks (1.1%), sixteen cases for crimes against Hispanics (2.8%), and one case for crimes against an Asian American (0.18%). Beyond the minority status of the victim, two or more status markers were present when Whites were executed for crimes against people of color. The results, which are consistent with expectations drawn from social dominance theory, highlight the differential value placed on minority lives and call into question the legitimacy of the death penalty in the United States.

For or Against?: Criminal Justice and Criminology Faculty Attitudes toward Trigger Warnings

Since 2014, a debate has raged over trigger warnings in college courses. Proponents see trigger warnings (oral or written advance notification of course content with the potential to trigger adverse health responses, and therefore, inhibit academic performance) as supportive of students, particularly those who have experienced trauma. Critics see them as harmful to those same students, and as a threat to learning and academic freedom. Using data from a survey of criminal justice and criminology faculty (N = 791), this study found three domains of faculty attitudes, with trigger warnings as a student-centered teaching practice, an academic harm, and compromising content. Female faculty, those who had taught victimology, those in criminal justice departments, and those who identified as more liberal had more positive views of trigger warnings. Only attitudes viewing trigger warnings as a student-centered teaching practice predicted use of trigger warnings. Future research should undertake inter-disciplinary comparisons.

Is the Macau scam a fraud?

PurposeThere is a broad description of fraud debated by academics around the world. The definition of fraud differs between governments, criminal justice departments and private entities. Some questions can make this study important to explain the concept of fraud. This study aims to define the legal concept of fraud. The concept of a word is important to discuss because it explains the meaning of a word and that could answer the question on Macau scam – a fraud?Design/methodology/approachThe content analysis is the research design of this study. Data were obtained by document analysis, including books, papers, journals, case reports and other records relating to fraud. The methods used to interpret the data for this qualitative research are empirical, deductive and inductive.FindingsThis study found that the concept of fraud has not yet been defined. This can give rise to a broad interpretation, depending on the action taken by the parties in the cases. On the basis of the context of the dictionary, fraud may be said to be the same thing as deception. Sometimes, the use of words to convey things that are different from, and even at odds with, the actual sense of words. Whereas, from a legal point of view, fraud still occurs as a matter of fact to be determined. This study showed that Macau scam is a fraud.Originality/valueThe implication of this analysis is for scholars and legal professionals to assess the principle of fraud prior to the accusation.