What We're Reading

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  Covid-19 has killed more police officers this year than all other causes combined, data shows

  Published on September 2, 2020

  Christopher Ingram reports that at least 100 law enforcement officers have died after contracting COVID-19 on the job, and another 150 deaths remain under investigation. "At the state level, Texas stands out for having the highest number of law enforcement covid fatalities with at least 21, according to NLEOMF. At least 16 of those represent officers with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which manages the state’s correctional facilities."

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  When Asthma in Jail Becomes a Death Sentence

  Published on September 2, 2020

  Since 2005, nearly 800 people have died in Texas jails of causes labeled by officials as natural. "But in recent years, lawsuits," Michael Barajas reports, "Texas Rangers reports, and newspaper investigations have shown many of those to be preventable tragedies that appear to result from negligence on the part of jail staff."

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  The U.S. Prison System Has Reached 1,000 COVID-19 Deaths

  Published on August 28, 2020

  Reason Magazine's Scott Shackford reports that the number of people who have died of COVID-19 in American prisons has passed 1,000 (inmates and staff), based on data collected by The Marshall Project.

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  Officer-Involved Shootings Climb in Texas; Blacks, Latinos Disproportionate Victims

  Published on August 27, 2020

  The Center on Media Crime and Justice at John Jay College featured TJI's officer-involved shootings report in their publication, The Crime Report. Reporter Laura Bowen focused on the increasing number of shootings by officers in Texas over the past four years and decreasing survival rates of victims.

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  Save Black Lives

  Published on August 5, 2020

  A new report from the Center for Justice Research and the Black Public Defender Association explores racial injustices and the impact of COVID-19 and incarceration in Black communities. Howard Henderson, the founding director of the center, said: "Black people are being infected and dying from COVID-19 at alarming rates. They are also overrepresented in carceral systems that increase their risk of exposure to this deadly virus.