When Does It End
By Jay Goodman
As I have sat here the last 15 years and looked at the insanity of the Texas prison system, I have asked myself thousands of times when does it end? I am not talking about prison in general, because there will always be a need for prisons. Unfortunately, someone is always willing to break the law so I don’t see the end of prisons coming anytime time soon.
But when does this corrupt prison end? How long will it take before someone says this is enough? Surely the people who run the state have to eventually see the current system that’s been put in place doesn’t work. I mean it’s not like it hasn’t had plenty of time to run its course.
The big prison boom back in the 1990’s has not changed anything in over 30 years. Has anyone in Austin ever asked themselves the question when does it end? When is it time to head in a new direction? When do all of the politicians finally sit down and take a serious look at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and revamp the entire prison system? The system that’s been put in place since the David Ruiz lawsuit has done nothing to rehabilitate its prisoners. It’s ruined more lives and institutionalized more people than anyone will ever realize. In fact, the way the system has been run it’s created more criminals then it’s helped prisoners. And if it doesn’t change, in the end it’ll be looked at as the biggest failure any prison system in the history of the United States. Has anyone ever considered where the prison system will be in 30 more years? One would think this question would be at the top of questions one would be considering when looking at the future of the prison system.
Let’s face it, if you are not moving in the direction of change you were not going to help anyone. That’s another thing that the people who have control the Texas prison system hate to hear, “change.” That’s a word they avoid at all cost. In fact, if one would look at the history of the State’s prison system until now you would quickly see that it’s fought tooth and nail to keep that from happening. One of their biggest fears is losing the 160 something thousand slaves they have. Hundreds of miles of fieldwork, everything from picking cotton, to cut and sugarcane, to taking care of pigs and cattle. Let’s not forget are all of their personal needs like cutting their hair to shining their shoes, to cleaning all of theirs and their families close, that’s just to name a few things. As I always say everything the Texas prisoners do is for free because they don’t get paid. This type of treatment goes back to the beginning of their prison system until this very day. This is not the 1800’s or the 1900’s, this is the 21st-century. But the Texas Department of Criminal Justice still to this very day have the same mentality it did 200 years ago. The traditions of work the prisoners in the field from sun up to sun down picking cotton like they did the slaves still exist.
When I look at the Texas prisons, I cannot help it wonder how it has continued to stay stuck in a time that the rest of our country has long forgot about? To this day the prison still called the guards “boss.” When the end of slavery took place in America, Texas immediately made their prisoners slaves of the state. And once again here we are in 2020, the 21st-century and the prison system it’s pretty much the same. The only real change that’s taken place has occurred only because of lawsuits that been filed and one in federal court.
There is no doubt in my mind that if the Davis Ruiz lawsuit wasn’t filed back in the 1970s, Texas would have never made any of the changes that have taken place. And even with these lawsuits, inmates have won the Texas prison system still tries to ignore the ruling from the federal court. And once again, I am sure someone will say I’m crazy, who works for the Texas prison system. They love to say that the Texas Department of criminal Justice would always follow any ruling passed in the federal court. But if that was true, why did the feds have to take total control of the entire prison system after David Ruiz won his lawsuit? It was because they would not follow the Court’s ruling. I’m sure someone will say that was back then we’ve got guidelines set now to keep them from ever happening again. But as usual that’s just another lie. And to prove my point and show once again how they’ve still not listened to the federal court, back in 2018 another lawsuit was one by a group of prisoners. This was a tremendous victory for the prisoners because it pertained to the heat lawsuit which had claimed the lives of dozens of prisoners. 11 of them die just in 2011 alone.
The federal court ruled that every prison had to allow prisoners during extreme temperatures to go to recite. Which is a place to cool off. But they ignore the Courts ruling again and again and would refuse to either open it or would close it even if it was over 100°. Yes, many prisoners would file grievances, but as always who investigates the grievances? The family members or friends of the person the grievances are being brought against. Also, who will make the final decision on her grievances? The warden. The inmates who won the lawsuit to begin with had to put the Texas Department of criminal Justice back in the federal court to get them to comply. That was 2019, one year after the lawsuit was one. From the David Ruiz’s lawsuit that ended in 1990s. After 20 years of litigation, half of which the feds had total control of the State’s prison system.
Until the Heat lawsuit that was filed in 2014 and ended in 2018, they show a clear pattern of disregard to anything the federal court says. In each case it took the intervention from the federal court to make the prison system comply. They have proven over and over again that they care less about what the court says, and it’s not just the courts, but they care less about the conditions in which the personals are in. I mean this is not a small matter, prisoners have literally been cooked to death. The mentality of the people running the prison system has not only shocked me at times but it’s sad and my heart to see the complete disregard they have for human life. Why is understandable that there are people you may not like in prison, that should not have no bearing on the overall treatment of the men and women incarcerated. Especially when it comes to life and death situations.
Life of course is about choices; I made the choices I did and I have to pay the price. The Texas Department of criminal Justice has made the choices that cost dozens of prisoners their lives, but still refused to comply with the federal courts ruling. Remember this is not a one-time ordeal this has went on from the beginning, that is why I have used David Ruiz lawsuit from 30 years ago to the present heat lawsuit that was just settled. Mentality of the last 30 years has not changed at all. They believe they are above the law; they know without any worry or doubt that there will not be any repercussions for their actions.
And these two lawsuits I’ve reference to is a prime example of what I’m talking about. They cannot deny the truth of what I’ve written about throughout this book.
There is no way the Texas officials are not aware of what’s taken place or what continues to take place. The corruption that’s been allowed to happen throughout the years, and decades, it’s something I’m sure most American citizens would not in their wildest imagination ‘s believe could be happening in our country. The sad thing is, the public officials are fully aware of what’s happened and what continues to happen. I’ve written about this again and again, and I cannot help but wonder if they are getting some type of kickback. Why haven’t the public officials intervened by now? It’s not like it’s a secret what’s been going on.
They have seen the many lawsuits filed and One through the decades. But have done nothing to change things. And because of this, this criminal empire continues to thrive. When is there going to be a point when someone says changes have to be made? Our government spends tons of money tracking down criminals every year but yet turns their head to what’s going on inside the Texas prison system. Because of that people inside the presents have been abused or killed. The men and women are human beings with families and deserve a chance at rehabilitation.
That will never happen under the Puppetmasters watch. Their goal has always been to enslave every single person who enters its doors. As I said before, when does it end?
