Read chapter 13: "Crime and Corrections Policy" in your "Governing Texas" book.

Familiarize yourself with the following concepts and answer the questions below.

Categorizing Crime in Texas

• Felonies and Misdemeanors
  • A felony is a serious criminal offense that subjects a person to state prison punishment.
  • Misdemeanors are less serious crimes, with sentences of up to one year in jail.
• Punishing Crime
  • In some cases, the judge may allow probation, or community supervision, rather than a jail or prison sentence, especially if it is the defendant's first conviction.
  • People who are sentenced to prison may be released on parole after a period of time behind bars.
  • Texas enhances sentences for repeat felony offenders as well, with the "three strikes" provision.

The Criminal Justice Process

The major procedural steps of criminal justice are:

• Arraignment and Posting Bail
• Grand Jury Indictment
• Pretrial Hearings
• Trial and Sentencing
• Does the Criminal Justice System Create Criminals?
  • The structure of the criminal justice process even for minor crimes such as a class B misdemeanor may deter future crimes because of the severity of punishment, but the cost and penalty structure also seem to encourage failure and further criminality by the offender.
• Crime and Texas District Attorneys
  • Two important actors in the Texas criminal justice process are county attorneys and district attorneys that represent the state.
  • Most district attorneys' cases end in plea bargains in which the defendant admits guilt in order to receive a lighter sentence.
• Crime and Criminal Defense
  • Criminal defendants have a right to a lawyer. This will be provided by either assigned council or a public defender.

Crime, Corrections, and the Texas Prison System

• History of the Prison System
  • Texas prisons started as state-run agencies, were leased to private interests in the nineteenth century, and came back under state control in 1910 as the result of scandals and abuse.
  • Abuse did not end with state control, and various lawsuits resulted in changes in how Texas prisons could operate.
• The Prison System Today
  • The Texas prison system is operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. This agency is run by a nine-member board appointed by the governor, and board members serve staggered six-year terms.
  • The costs of running prisons in Texas have risen steadily, and since 2007, the legislature has looked for cost-cutting moves, including alternatives to prison.
  • Texas imprisons mostly violent offenders. In 2014, 60.6 percent of Texas prison inmates had been convicted of violent offenses and 12.5 percent had been convicted of property offenses. Nearly 14 percent of the inmate population was convicted of drug offenses.
• The Death Penalty
  • Texas is one of 31 states that have the death penalty.
  • In Texas, one is subject to the death penalty for the murder of a public safety officer, firefighter, or correctional employee; murder during commission of a kidnapping, burglary, robbery, aggravated rape, or arson; murder for hire; multiple murders; murder during a prison escape; murder by a prison inmate serving a life sentence; or murder of a child under the age of 6. Texas executed 531 people from 1976 through 2015.
• Self-Defense and Concealed/Open Carry of Handguns
  • One of the most controversial issues in the state over the past few years has dealt with concealed and open carry of handguns.
  • The most controversial aspect of Texas handgun legislation has probably been campus carry, which went into effect August 1, 2016, and required public universities to allow concealed handgun license holders to carry, with some restricted locations, on college campuses.

The Integrity of the Texas Criminal Justice System

• How Fair Is the Criminal Justice System?
  • Ideally, the criminal justice system should hold the guilty accountable and protect the innocent from punishment. That has not always been the case in Texas. There seem to be problems with fairness in the implementation of the death penalty, and there are a number of cases where overzealous police and prosecutors have punished innocent parties. The question is how common are those abuses and what, if anything, can be done about them.
  • Concerns about the criminal justice system include issues and cases such as:
    • Problems with police procedures and evidence
    • The Willingham case
    • The Tulia drug arrests

Reforms

Improvements in the Texas criminal justice system have occurred. Texas is no longer handling its crime problem solely by incarceration. The number of drug treatment programs has increased, and there is greater emphasis on imprisonment as a last response to criminal behavior.

• The Politics of Criminal Justice Reform
  • Like many issues, the politics of criminal justice reform are partisan and polarized, especially around the death penalty, but criminal justice reformers have recently been remarkably successful in their efforts to bring about reforms in the criminal justice system; many of the reforms are important changes in the system but are low-visibility and low-controversy matters.

1. Is the Texas criminal justice system too tough on crime? Why or why not?
2. Should Texas cease using the death penalty for capital cases? Why or why not?
3. How should Texas deal with increasing rates of incarceration? Should Texas decriminalize certain behavior, reduce sentence lengths, invest in crime prevention (such as drug and alcohol rehabilitation), or build more prisons?
4. Does the Texas criminal justice system create criminals?
5. Is the Texas criminal justice system fair? Does it include enough protections against mistakes?