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submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by Samvega@lemmy.blahaj.zone to c/news@lemmy.world
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[-] Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world 185 points 2 months ago

Despite what ppl tell you, prisoners are ppl. Treating murders, rapists, thieves, etc worse than they did their victims is not justice

[-] mozz@mbin.grits.dev 113 points 2 months ago

One of the dead guys was sentenced for unlawful possession of a firearm. Not that he necessarily did anything with it; he just had it.

[-] yeahiknow3@lemmy.dbzer0.com 57 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Violent criminals are a fairly small fraction of total inmates, and a whopping 76% of the Texas jail population hasn’t even been convicted of a crime.

Also, Texas loves rapists and most of them aren’t in prison anyway. Not to mention Abbott just pardoned that convicted homicidal murderer.

[-] Emerald@lemmy.world 10 points 2 months ago

Abbott just pardoned that convicted homicidal murderer.

Looked that up and wow thats crazy. Man texted all his racist friends about wanting to kill black people in the morning. Then he ran his car into a crowd of people. Someone walks up to him with a gun (i wonder why?) and he kills him.

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[-] C126@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 months ago

People just can't imagine this treatment ever happening to themselves.

[-] BruceTwarzen@lemm.ee 8 points 2 months ago

Some of them even smoked weed or never did anything at all

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[-] PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works 80 points 2 months ago

The TDCJ denies that there have been any deaths caused by heat since 2012, insisting that fatalities during the summer months can be explained by inmates’ underlying medical conditions.

Right, just like Covid never killed anyone either.

[-] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 25 points 2 months ago

Turns out every single one of those inmates had a congenital heart defect. What are the odds?

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[-] reddig33@lemmy.world 58 points 2 months ago

As a Texan — please tell me what I can do to try to change this? I’m already voting. Is there a legal non profit I can donate to that is suing to change this?

[-] FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 17 points 2 months ago

Slightly related, but mailing prisoners lwould be great. Even if one correspence with one prisoner you send once a couple months, it really improves the mental health of people in prison for a long time, most often family and friends have forgotten about/abandoned them, and having someone on the outside to occasionally talk to can be such a relief.

[-] JovialMicrobial@lemm.ee 8 points 2 months ago

https://civilrights.justice.gov/

This is where you can report the prisons that are cooking people alive. They might already be aware of it since it hit the news though. Or you can report Texas for any of other civil rights violations they've been committing recently. It might not accomplish much, but they at least deserve to be investigated for their disturbing activity.

Also, I feel like people in general should be aware that government website exists. I didn't know about it until just now. Knowledge is power and all that.

[-] 31337@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 months ago

I don't know anything about them, but found these that you can donate and volunteer for: https://www.tpcadvocates.org/ https://tifa.org/ https://www.texasjailproject.org/

Donating to and canvassing for politicians that would change this could also help.

Supporting good journalism can also help. I really like the Texas Observer.

[-] reddig33@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago
[-] Samvega@lemmy.blahaj.zone 51 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

At Coffield, inmates were being forced to spend up to six hours in the exercise yard, known as the day room. The space is designed to provide respite for prisoners outside their cells, but has become a heat trap with no AC and no access to water.

Robertson’s inquiries suggest that Wilson had spent up to five hours in the day room immediately before he collapsed in his cell. A TDCJ spokesperson declined to comment on Wilson’s death, saying the department “doesn’t comment on pending litigation”.

[...]

Hanby wrote the letter from Coffield, where Wilson died. He described the conditions as “torture by heat – Texas is killing people every year who haven’t been sentenced to death”.

The prisoner was being housed in “a tiny cell with sheet metal on the door for 24 hours a day”. He has high blood pressure and is fearful that he may not make it.

“If I don’t survive this summer, TDCJ will use their favorite excuse and claim that I died of a heart attack,” he wrote. “That will be a lie. It will be the heat that claims me, and if not me, then so many others like me.”

[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 23 points 2 months ago

Great country you guys have there.

[-] militaryintelligence@lemmy.world 13 points 2 months ago

It's a state. Don't put that evil on me, Ricky Bobby

[-] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 18 points 2 months ago

The entire US "justice" system is an utter disgrace.

[-] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 7 points 2 months ago

the criminal justice system is two of those things- criminal, and a system.

[-] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 11 points 2 months ago

We know. All of us who aren't children know. But a lot of people here like it the way it is, unfortunately.

[-] Myxomatosis@lemmy.world 49 points 2 months ago

“The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.” - Gandhi

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[-] Yawweee877h444@lemmy.world 46 points 2 months ago

Cruel and unusual punishment.

[-] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 24 points 2 months ago

Ah but the Supreme Court ruled that punishment is only forbidden if it's cruel and unusual, and it's not unusual if it happens all the time. Checkmate, atheists.

[-] SlothMama@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago

Ah so the workaround is that as long as cruel punishment is normalized, it's always acceptable. You can do something unethical today, and as long as people let you get away with it, it's completely moral.

Thanks America!

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[-] Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de 44 points 2 months ago
[-] FollyDolly@lemmy.world 28 points 2 months ago

Ah yes, another day, another horror done deliberately and maliciously by my government. Great. I hope everyone of those monsters that enabled this to happen die a horrible heat related death.

[-] BruceTwarzen@lemm.ee 4 points 2 months ago

They make vacation on their air conditioned yachts

[-] FollyDolly@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago

Maybe the orcas will sink a few for us.

[-] Burn_The_Right@lemmy.world 27 points 2 months ago

Conservatism is a plague of death and should be eradicated from modern civilization.

[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 24 points 2 months ago

Texan: “well I guess they shouldn’t have broken the law then, right?”

[-] SlothMama@lemmy.world 17 points 2 months ago

This is criminal, but I guess it's okay because the 13th amendment says prisoners are property so they don't have to worry about their health, safety and rights.

[-] cocobean@bookwormstory.social 16 points 2 months ago

"it costs money to install AC"

Sure, weak excuse, but let's go with it -- What's the excuse for not giving water? They get water ONCE A DAY, if that? That's just completely fucked and insane

[-] puchaczyk@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 months ago

If they install AC they will have fewer bodies to harvest organs from.

[-] BruceTwarzen@lemm.ee 3 points 2 months ago

I watched enough 60 days in to not be surprised

[-] skozzii@lemmy.ca 16 points 2 months ago

Texas sounds like a dumpster.

[-] daemoz@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago

They call it the 1 star state for a reason. -guy from Houston

[-] TwinkleToes@lemmy.ca 8 points 2 months ago

Capital punishment, by other means

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago
[-] tate 2 points 2 months ago

The cruelty is a feature, not a bug.

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this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2024
558 points (98.6% liked)

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