June 11, 2013
by Bob Libal
Grassroots Leadership and our allies are celebrating today as the Texas Department of Crim
The closure of Dawson in particular is a victory for those concerned with the care of prisoners. Dawson has been the site of the deaths of three incarcerated women over the last two years, and the death of an infant girl who was born to a woman at Dawson with no medical personnel on site. Over the past six months, Grassroots Leadership and our allies have advocated to close the Dawson State Jail. Those efforts included a sign-on letter of 25 human rights organizations, the issuance of Dawson State Jail: The Case for Closure, a joint report of Grassroots Leadership and The Sentencing Project, a petition with signatories from around the country, and a vigil outside the facility in March.
The closure of two private prisons in Texas - including Dawson - is a first step towards reducing our nation's reliance on for-profit prison companies like CCA. We will be celebrating this victory in the coming months as part of our year-long national campaign to counter the CCA's 30th anniversary.
- Log in to post comments