Texas Tough: Three Years Later

In August 2000, the Justice Policy Institute reported the significant role Texas had played in prison expansion in the United States. Today, Texas' prison population is once again on the rise, and state legislators and policymakers are at a crossroads: either policy changes will be enacted to reduce the state's incarcerated population, or the state will once again expand the number of prison beds. As Texas contemplates how to reconcile public safety, fiscal health, and community justice through its corrections system, the Justice Policy Institute updates some of the startling statistics that define the Lone Star State's prisoner dilemma.