Jail Conditions Worsened During Winter Storm Uri in February 2021

A watchdog group published a piece with numerous headlines linked to other articles demonstrating problems with Texas county and municipal jails in the year 2021. All issues weren’t about horrendous conditions, per se, but the articles supposedly demonstrate that jails don’t make communities safer. The winter storm in February of that year caused problems in jails and prisons across the state.

Juvenile inmates in a juvenile justice center claimed they were subjected to inhumane treatment when they had to withstand frigid temperatures during Winter Storm Uri. The ice storm hit, and the Texas power grid didn’t hold up. Parents weren’t notified that their children were subjected to temperatures as low as 27º F, and the children were unable to call their families until the worst of the crisis had passed.

Some inmates in Texas were forced to miss meals during the storm. Essential supplies weren’t available to some, while cogged toilets were the worst part of it in some facilities. In one facility that holds 370 people in custody, each was given four water bottles each day. They drank the water and used it for hygiene purposes.

Thirty-two jails and prisons were running on generators. Another 33 lost water from outside sources or had low water pressure.

Learn more about the effects of the storm in the next installment. Also, see Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of this continuing series.

Helping Texas jail detainees and their families with resources is one of the purposes of this website. There is no intention of suggesting that people or organizations have been involved in misdeeds.

–Guest Contributor