Abuse On The Rise in Texas Juvenile Prisons

The full beauty of a child, a real sight to see. All the promise, all the beauty, all the hope, these are things we see in our children. "Like an angel," I say to my wife. "She looks like an angel", I repeat, as I watch my granddaughter play in the evening glow while the sun gently sets, she dances with a small butterfly fluttering through our garden. Precious moments like this are seared in the thoughts and memories of parents and grandparents across this country. And so it should be, happy moments are the gifts of children.

Unfortunately, such happy moments are not shared by all. Earlier this month I visited the Evins Juvenile Detention Center which lies in my hometown of Edinburg. The Evins center, has about 250 residents, most of them between the ages of 15 and 20 years old, but some as young as 12. Young people who commit crimes are sent there for punishment, but also to get counseling, take school classes and prepare to re-enter our communities.

Disturbing events have transpired at the facility in recent times. In October of 2004 a riot erupted at the facility. Later, it was learned that violence was committed against some of the youths residing at the facility. In November of 2004, guards from a Central Texas and West Texas detention center joined others from the Evins unit in response to the unrest. Some of these guards were guilty of horrible offenses towards youths not responsible for initiating the October unrest. Litigation against the institution soon followed.

On February 13 of this year I received complaints from approximately 40 employees of the Evins Unit regarding their own safety and that of the young detainees (our post). As we had before, we immediately investigated the concerns brought to our attention. We communicated these concerns to the TYC headquarters in Austin and asked the executive director to join us in a visit to the facility. On the morning of March 7 of this year I had an in depth discussion with the executive director regarding the problems at the Evins unit and thereafter traveled to the facility.



My visit was revealing and confirmed much of what I had suspected. I'll discuss these initial observations in a later post. I will say that Texans should demand more in the care of our young who have had the misfortune to find themselves in our state juvenile institutions. We can not simply take the "throw away the keys" attitude that many have regarding our adult populations. This attitude contributes to the situation we find ourselves in today.

Within these young bodies there lies the same beauty I find in my children and grandchildren. We need to see and find what others may have discarded. We should not contribute to the difficult road these young people have experienced. We otherwise will be forced to deal with more difficult circumstances that could have been halted with a more effective early intervention.

Before we move on to my next post, please read four fine articles by Elizabeth Pierson that appeared in today's newspapers regarding this subject:

"Little Boys, Big Time,"

"Guards On The Defensive,"

"No Warm Welcome,"

and "Trouble At Evins."