Prairie Fire Journal

The people of Texas have learned in recent weeks what those on the receiving end of Texas justice have known for decades--TDCJ is rotten to the core when it comes to official misconduct and corruption. Whether it's abusing and murdering prisoners, or smuggling in contraband, TDCJ officials have always considered themselves to be above the law.

The latest controversy is over the smuggling in of cell phones to death row prisoners. There's only one way a death row prisoner can get hold of a cell phone, and that's by a prison guard or other prison official walking them in through the front door or the backgate. However, in typical TDCJ fashion, the spotlight is focused on how prisoners hide the smuggled goods rather than on the prison officials who actually do the smuggling.

So far, only the mother and sister of a death row prisoner have been charged with any crimes related to the smuggling activity. They purchased the cell phone items to be smuggled in, but didn't actually do the smuggling. That was done by a TDCJ prison official. While lawbreaking prison officials may face dismissal, few will ever be charged and prosecuted for their crimes. If history is any indication of what the future will bring, don't expect that to change anytime soon in Texas.

Instead, the head moron on the state judicial committee, Houston state senator John Whitmire, and other state officials propose breaking federal law by installing cell phone jamming systems at the state's 109 prison units. In fact, Texas officials have scheduled an illegal test of such a system at the Travis County State Jail in Austin on Dec. 18. In other words, Texas officials want to commit more criminal acts in addition to the ones they're already committing. Sounds about right for Texas.