Juvenile Justice

Texas capitol reporter Elizabeth Pierson's articles about abuse of juveniles by Texas Youth Commission officers have the South Texas blogosphere buzzing.

• Rio Grande Politics gave a heads up a couple of weeks ago that the series was in the works. Today the blog wonders, "who in fact is the criminal"?
• South Texas Chisme asks, "Must a guard thump Johnny on the head to feel safe?"
• Over at A Capitol Blog, state Rep. Aaron Peña says, "Texans should demand more in the care of our young .... We can not simply take the 'throw away the keys' attitude that many have regarding our adult [prison] populations."

Pierson covers state government in Austin for the Brownsville Herald, The Monitor and the Valley Morning Star. Her stories on the Texas Youth Commission document the doubling of abuse rates at TYC facilities in 2004. The articles include:

• Little Boys, Big Time: "Rates of physical abuse in TYC have increased steadily for at least seven years. By 2005, three of every 100 detainees were abused by the employees who watch over them."
• Guards on the Defensive: "Juvenile inmates are becoming more aggressive and injuring guards with greater frequency, Texas Youth Commission employees and union representatives say."
• Trouble at Evins: "Leadership is new, and abuses have dwindled, but Edinburg’s juvenile prison is still recovering from a rash of beatings and altercations with juvenile prisoners in late 2004."
• No Warm Welcome: "TYC investigators have confirmed physical abuse against youth by employees at the Marlin Orientation and Assessment Unit 62 times since 1999, more than any other TYC facility."
• Elected officials express concern: "Already the House and Senate committees that oversee the TYC are investigating abuse in the agency, in part because of a string of abuses at the Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg in late 2004."

BACKGROUND: A TYC investigation confirmed cases of abuse at Evins in January 2005, prompting a legislative investigation. Advocates claimed the abuse problem extended statewide, and one mother spoke of her son's abuse that resulted in eight guards getting suspended. Two months later, the TYC director acknowledged there was a lack of oversight at the facility. Last fall, parents of three kids at Evins filed a lawsuit claiming abuse last year. Workers at Evins, on the other hand, say they're not safe while on the job.