RELEASE OF TYC INMATES BEGINS

[Joanne98]

Source: keyetv

Release Of TYC Inmates Begins
Texas Youth Commission Coverage
Video: Watch Our Latest News

Keith Elkins
Reporting

(CBS 42) CROCKETT The state will be releasing hundreds of young offenders inside Texas Youth Commission facilities after an independent review by TYC's new conservator and administration.

Part of those releases are taking place in the East Texas town of Crockett.

Vickie Watson says God answered her prayers when she found out her 16-year-old grandson, Richard Kinzer, was being set free.

Kinzer, who has and IQ of 54, got in trouble for breaking into a neighbor’s house. When he violated his probation he was sent to the Crockett state school.

Within two months, he was in trouble again. This time for throwing paper darts at the ceiling.




Read more: http://keyetv.com/topstories/local_story_095175312.html

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Make sure to watch the video!

[Joanne98]

1. Former TYC guard charged in sex case

Former TYC guard charged in sex case

Web Posted: 04/05/2007 12:16 AM CDT

Express-News

AUSTIN — Police were searching Wednesday for a former guard accused of having sex with a youth at a West Texas facility for juvenile offenders.

An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday for former Texas Youth Commission guard Shannon Griffin, 30, who was fired in December for reportedly having a sexual relationship with an incarcerated male juvenile at the Sheffield Boot Camps in Sheffield, about 100 miles south of Midland, authorities said.

Griffin is charged with carrying on an improper relationship/sexual contact with a person in custody, a third-degree felony.

She worked as a correctional officer at boot camp — that can house 128 male offenders — between June 2005 and Dec. 15, 2006, when she was terminated.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA040507.tycgaurdcharged.EN.32f27303.html

[Joanne98]

2. Reports Show Al Price TYC Unit Filled With Abuse and Crime; 48 Released

Reports Show Al Price TYC Unit Filled With Abuse and Crime; 48 Released
Source: KBTV Channel 4 Hometown News

Allegations of abuse and criminal activity involving staff and inmates at the Al Price Juvenile Correctional facility in Beaumont are forcing lawmakers and investigators to take a closer look at illegal activities behind closed doors.

LOCAL TEENS WILL BE RELEASED

KBTV-4 has learned the Texas Youth Commission will release 551 inmates this week and 48 will come from the Al Price unit. Twelve teenagers from Southeast Texas who have been locked up at other TYC facilities are also being allowed to leave.

A TYC spokesman said these inmates have completed their minimum sentences and have not caused trouble behind bars. Some inmates may have been forced to stay longer than their minimum sentence as a form of punishment or revenge by facility supervisors.

The inmates being released from the Al Price unit have been locked up for probation violations, burglaries, robberies, thefts and other crimes.



Read more: http://216.87.159.39/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=...


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They're starting to release them...

[Joanne98]

3. Teens released from TYC facilities

Teens released from TYC facilities
4/5/2007 3:48 PM
By: News 8 Austin Staff

Across Texas, hundreds of inmates who say they were physically, emotionally or sexually abused are being released from Texas Youth Commission facilities.

Many served their original sentences but were still behind bars. A teen whose mother accuses Texas Youth Commission guards of standing by while he was attacked by other inmates will be released on Friday.

Family attorney James Myart Jr. made the announcement in the case of 18-year-old Erik Rodriguez, who was sent to TYC for breaking into San Antonio-area homes.

Rodriguez has been at the TYC facility in Corsicana for a year-and-a-half beyond his initial sentence of nine months. Officials say he couldn't pass math requirements and wasn't progressing in group therapy.

But on Monday, TYC announced more than 550 inmates who've completed their minimum sentences and haven't caused problems will be freed.

The teen's mother, Alice Smith, said guards allowed her son to be kicked until he lost teeth and suffered hearing loss last year.

WATCH THE VIDEO

TYC scandal

News 8 Austin's Bob Robuck reports from the Corsicana Residential Treatment Center in East Texas.

http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=181990

[Fridays Child]

4. Isn't there a Gonzo connection to this story?

I'm on Republick scandal overload. It's so hard to keep track.

[Joanne98]

5. YES! Gonzo was in charge of the TYC when he was in Texas AND

The abuse was reported to the DOJ TWO YEARS AGO and Gonzo did NOTHING!

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Releasing them is not enough. This is an outrage.

These kids, most of them surely already badly damaged by the time they got into juvie prison, were further mangled while in the care of the state. And they dare to merely RELEASE them? What about psychotherapy? What about monetary damages? Will there be class-action lawsuits against the state? But mostly the psychotherapy. Money doesn't mean much when your head is full of snakes; unless they get the therapy they need, they'll blow it buying street drugs to self-medicate with.

[Joanne98]

7. .......

[Heidi]

8. Kick.

:kick:

[Joanne98]

9. Teen to be released from TYC facility

Source: AP

SAN ANTONIO — A teen whose mother accused Texas Youth Commission guards of standing by while he was physically abused by other inmates will be released Friday, the mother's attorney said.

Erik Rodriguez, 18, has been held at the TYC facility in Corsicana for 1 1/2 year beyond his initial sentence of 9 months for breaking into San Antonio-area homes because he couldn't pass math requirements and wasn't progressing in group therapy.

TYC officials said they could not comment on any youth held in their facilities, but on Monday, the agency, which is now undergoing a top-to-bottom inspection, announced it would release more than 550 inmates who have completed their minimum sentences and haven't caused problems while in custody.

James Myart Jr., an attorney representing Rodriguez's mother, said Rodriguez was scheduled to be released Friday.



Read more: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/4690828.html

[Wickerman]

10. Them kids is money!

can't let 'em out on time, and certainly not early! Glad this has come to head.

[ThomCat]

11. I'm sure you're absolutely right.

It's all about the money.

And who's going to raise a stink about troubled kids being kept locked up? x(