-
Concerned tax payer 04/23/2011 5:20:00 PM
Tent city is paradise compared to Harris County. Why dont you inform yourself before making ignorant comments. You dont have to break the law to end up in Harris County.
Good luck with your marriage...
-
Concerned tax payer 04/23/2011 5:13:00 PM
Everything in booking may be taped but how about everything inside the actual holding cell where all of the violence takes place? Of course not. If you expect anyone to believe that the officers dont know the cameras blind spots you are kidding yourself. Not everyone inside the jail is a hardened criminal willing to lie at the drop of a hat. I was arrested for a 20 dollar bounced check from when I was in college that I had no knowledge of. For this I was treated the same as If I had killed someone. I am a law abiding citizen and have been a public servant for 7 years. There are human rights violations taking place every day inside Harris County.
As far as working inside the jail, I had actually considered it at one point. I now know that the animals that work there are worse than the inmates. Being employed as a jailer is just as good as a life sentence. These guys need some serious mental help.
-
Concerned tax payer 04/23/2011 5:01:00 PM
After visiting Harris County jail twice I can tell you that the events described in this piece are mild compared to what I have seen. The first time when I went in the main holding tank was crammed so full that you couldnt sit and yet they would open the door and literally shove more inmates in and close the door behind them. People were vomiting and passing out. This time it took 2 days before anyone got a bed. I lived for 48 hours with no sleep, standing shoulder to shoulder not able to sit for very long periods of time.
I personally witnessed unnecessary violence against undeserving prisoners. One time an officer
well known for being violent came in and screamed for everyone to "GET THE FUCK UP". This young kid, maybe 18(probably 115 pounds soaking wet) or so didnt react enough so the officer picked him up off the ground by his pants and shirt and slammed him to the ground like it was the WWE. Another thing they like to do when you talk too loud or dont listen is tell you to face the wall, then grab the pack of your head and ram your face into the concrete wall. If you see them put those leather gloves on, somebodies about to get BEAT.
Jail is not supposed to be fun, but being an inmate inside Harris county you forget that you are even an inside the United States of America. Human rights violations are the norm.
-
CLA 03/01/2011 6:31:00 AM
Believe me, Im NEVER going back to that place.
Was sent there for a DWI, but other than that Ive never done anything wrong in my life.
You are right to a certain extent in your comment
-
L F 03/01/2011 6:23:00 AM
Hey T
I was at Harris County jail about a week ago, I was sent there for driving drunk without hurting anyone, I know it was wrong.
I had never in my life had any sort of trouble with the law, or with anyone for that matter.
As I read this article I can witness that it is not as bad as this says it is.
The booking time did take a whole day, just in a waiting room lying on the concrete, and yes we only ate a sandwich and a cookie, we ate 3 or 4 through out the whole day, but I never got 3 hot meals at all.
The officers were not violent against us, if anything at all they were shouting, but then again they have to be tough as they deal with criminals.
They (Even tho little mean) were not violent at all.
This article is more than a year old, so im guessing things have either changed or they weren't like this at all.
For a middle class, college person that had never been in trouble before, my main fear where the inmates not the jailers.
It was not all that dirty, but i must say drinking from above a toilet is crappy, specially because the water thing is all full of green nasty stuff stuck to it.
I can understand how the jailers might dislike prisoners and take them for scum of the earth, but they should be humane at the least and treat them with respect. There where some of us that where stuck in there for driving drunk or some non violent thing.
-
alex 01/17/2011 2:07:00 AM
idiot
-
B 11/16/2010 11:48:00 PM
okay, so i have been to harris county jail two seperate times and every negative thing posted about this horrible place is 100% completely true. harris county jail is the biggest crock of shit joke jail in the country. i realize several inmates would like you to feel bad for them to ensure a lighter sentence for them, but the majority of people in harris county are INNOCENT. the police officers in charge of running the jail are completely uneducated and i truely believe harris county jail would be better off ran by 100 monkeys and kindergardeners, then perhaps they would actually get something done. and im sure everytime the FBI comes to investigate these ridiculous officers put on their fake ass front of how good they are doing. i can not believe that officer tried to argue that the facilities are clean? HA! what a laugh, a rat wouldnt even wonder in there it is so disgusting. i understand that jail is not supposed to be fun AT ALL. but it shouldnt be inhumane either. i witnessed police officers using unneccessary force with people. and yes, majority of people in there are high and drunk. that does not always mean they will be violent.. officers are violent because THEY CAN BE. because they can do whatever they want because THEY WONT GET IN TROUBLE. they all think that they are above the law. harris county= most disgusting place ivve ever seen. and the cops are the manipulators, NOT all the inmates. awww poor cops it must be so hard to be power hungry assholes who thrive on ruining peoples lives and then lying about it! thank you so much for "protecting and serving" HAHA. HARRIS COUNTY AND ALL OF THEIR OFFICERS ARE A JOKEEEEEEEEE!
-
jane doe 02/25/2010 7:34:00 AM
Please do not let this issue die!No one can truly understand a situation with out stepping through those shoes. Well i have been in those shoes let me tell you my story. I use to have faith in the judicial system I decided to study criminal justice to serve and to protect. I guess sometimes life takes you on an unexpected journey so that you can be more open minded. May 2009 I got pulled over charged for a crime I did not commit. Innocent I was charged and taken away from my family and had to fight for my freedom for my life. I was transferred to mikawa which was paradise compared to what i would face. I was transferred to harris county jail. The intake process was unbelievable I wish there was a way i could prove that there is great injustice being done behind closed doors. I wish there was a way I could improve the quality of order. All the stories are true. Overcrowding in the cells were overwelming I did not sleep for three days. There was no way to sleep with so many people. All kinds of people. The people i felt bad for were the sick people that needed medical attention and medication that were treated with disregard and disrespect. The mental ladies that were beaten badly for not following orders they were helpless they were not sain!!!The brave people that spoke up and were bloody after getting beaten by several jailors. It was sick how they could put so many people in cells without feeding us or giving us medical evaluations until the second or third day. What if someone had tb and was infecting everyone else?That is not sanitary.I can not comprehend how this can continue to go on for so long and nothing is being done about it.Do some research there has been accidental deaths and suicides that were really because of neglect and jailors killing inmates!! Also inmates killing inmates. The fbi needs to really conduct a serious investigation and america needs to find a way to improve the judicial system!I have many memories in my head I think I will write a book. All together I spent 31 days before I was found not guilty.
-
Theresa 10/12/2009 4:32:00 AM
After reading this story it real scares me. My 19teen year old daughter is in Harris county jail now.She has been in Camerom County jail for 14 days before she was moved to Harris County O and by the way took a week to get her from one place to another.I pray to god she don't get hurt Cameron conuty was bad enought.She ran a 103 temp all day and no one would get her help...This is her frist time every getting in any kind of trouble..These people and don't wrong but they are still people.Most of them are for little things.I understand a wrong is a wrong,but people should not be treated like animals.
Thank you for taking the time to leason a mom in Florida.
Theresa Fredenburg
-
T 09/26/2009 1:37:00 AM
Ok... Let me explain something to you, that read this story and believe what these convicts tell you... 1st in the receiving and booking area everything is videotaped from every angle. Every use of force (HITTING) and inmate is reviewed by the command staff, IAD, OIG and can also be reviewed by the DA�s Office, Texas Rangers, FBI and DOJ. Many people look over these uses of force incidents and try very hard to prove that an officer did wrong. 20 Years ago the cop was always right� Not today.. The crook is right and we have to prove we acted within the law and our right to protect not only ourselves but others. The only time any deputy, detention officer, or police officer is going to hit anyone. Is if they are trying to fight. You have to understand those who are arrested don�t like jail but don�t want to come to jail these guys and gals come in high, drunk and sometimes near death. Those near death we get them medical help. Those who are high and drunk they want to fight and resist every order given. Face it folks, if you give them an order and they don�t do it. You have to make them do it. When these folks are drunk and high they want to test. Just like a 5 year old test mom and dad. We have to have order in the jail. We have to do it by our physical presents, verbal and yes physical (Whip the azz)if need be. It does get crowed in booking. There are a lot of people committing crimes. My view jail is too easy for them and that is why they keep on coming to jail.
Not one officer wants to hit a one of these little innocent lambs.. These same people you want to feel sorry for will be the first to stab you in the back, rob, rape, shoot and steal from you. Now let�s move to the jail. The jail is clean. It is modern and cleaner than most of you nice folks homes.... Let me tell you what these so called abused inmates do every day while in jail. They watch TV, read the news paper, they play dominoes they get medical care for $10.00. I don�t know about you but my co-pay is $20.00 and a lot of folks don�t even have medical care. They are given clean clothing and bedding. They are feed 3 hot meals a day. This same food the deputies and detention officers use to eat. It is good food. Just like you cook for your families at home.
Criminals want you to feel sorry for them. That is the CON� They CON you into believing something that is just not true. I saw an inmate assault a detention officer. I read the statements from the crooks and every one of them saw something different from what really happen. They also lied about what they had witnessed. Ask yourself this� Do you really think these criminals are going to tell the truth�? 99% of the time they will lie.
Ok you folks can believe what you want. I will close with this. You go to jail to be punished. You don�t go to jail for a holiday. The way the jail is run today. The inmates are treated much better than those of us who are put in charge of watching them. We are assaulted daily. These fine upstanding god fearing inmates spit on us. They throw PEE on us. They throw POOH on us. I sure hope I see you nice folks coming down and asking for a job. We are short handed and you can maybe see for yourself what is real and how is telling you the truth. I know several who have hired on with us and they have had their eyes open.
I hope to see a few of you in recruiting.
-
PMMF Custodian 09/16/2009 6:28:00 AM
I know about Harris County Jail. I was there twice in the late '80s and early'90s and witnessed guards throw inmates down stairwells. I saw the deputies rush around gleefully like swarming sharks to join beatdowns on inmates in closed rooms. They would grab their rubber gloves and run to join the fray. You could hear their anguished screams and the laughing and chiding of the guards.
Shame on the fools who are so quick to condemn those to find themselves in this hellhole, suggesting they deserve it, etc. It shows your ignorance and lack of humanistic virtue. Many of those in jail suffer from addiction, alcoholism and mental illness. There are a lot of very good, decent people who because of various factors have struggled in life and certainly do not deserve the treatment they receive from the Harris County Jail Goon Squad.
I grew up in Houston, and I remember very well the vicious and brutal law enforcement practices of HPD and the sheriff's department. There were a lot of dead perps floating around in Bayou City in those days. I imagine there still are some.
-
Richard Doll 09/16/2009 1:08:00 AM
Any one of us could end up in there. My girlfriend was a victim of identity theft, perpetrated by her sister. Her sister was pulled over twice without ID, and since she knew my girlfriends SSN, was able to convince the police she was my Girlfriend. She was written tickets both times for speeding and no insurance, of course never showed up for court. My girlfriend found out there was a warrant for her arrest, and after 18 months and over $6000.00 in legal fees, was able to clear her name. Fortunately, she was never pulled over for any infractions, or this jail is where she would have ended up. Innocent until proven guilty should be more than a concept, it should be a practice. Innocent people are the vast minority of those confined in this hellhole, but they do end up there...
-
claud 09/14/2009 10:53:00 PM
WAAAA! My husband works in the jail and these criminals complain about petty shit day in and day out. "Jail isn't supposed to be a picnic", is right! There's a sheriff in Arizona that makes his inmates sleep in tents and wear pink clothes! HA! If you break the law, don;t expect to be treated like royalty. Don't break the law if bad sleeping conditions bother YOU!
-
areyoukiddingme 09/13/2009 10:46:00 AM
Im going to start this off with the old saying "If you cant do the time, dont do the crime". That doesnt just go for the length of your stay but also for the condition of the facilities. Really jail isnt supposed to be a vacation. Your not going to have all the comforts of home, lets be real its JAIL. I want to know how someone cant eat a bologna sandwhich because theyre Muslim, but its ok to commit a crime and be Muslim. Need AC and a comfy bed?, dont write hot checks. Want 3 square meals a day?, dont do drugs. Dont want to smell anyone elses body odor?, pay your damn traffic tickets or better yet drive according to the law! Dont want to be physically 'checked'?, DONT GET MOUTHY OR OUT OF LINE. Im so sure all these people went into county as "model citizens" and conducted themselves properly (yeah right). Im sorry you cant stand in a straight line when asked but Im pretty sure we were all taught how to do this in the 1st grade! C.O.'s arent there to be someones psychologist. I love how these people say "oh this isnt new, its always this bad, etc", but they keep going back there. Hmm, maybe its not all that bad to them. The food and beverages arent up to par?, sorry but its free, oh no wait .. IM PAYING FOR IT! Im tired of criminals complaining about how "bad" things are for them when they get arrested and jailed. Im never going to feel sorry for you. You chose to put yourself in those situations. Oh and spare me all the comments about how humans cant be treated this way etc. etc. If you dont want to be treated this way straighten up your actions. Maybe after this visit atleast one of these people wont go back, but then again the chances are slim. Oh and you know what?, theres not just the woman who wrote a bad check, or the guy who didnt pay his tickets in there, theres plenty of people who did way worse than that in county!
-
EC_Esq 09/13/2009 9:40:00 AM
I may be too late, but before any morons get on here and exhibit their stupidity by saying something like, "Jail is meant to be bad..." or "If you don't like it, don't do anything to get there..." I'd like to remind everyone that punishments are supposed to fit the crimes.
Forget the fact that we are all supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. Forget respect or human dignity. If you are truly conservative and you don't like big government or you believe that the government can only screw thing up, remember: these guards who are beating the crap out of people are agents of the government.
Agents of the government are abusing their authority and inflicting physical punishments on people whose biggest sin has been writing a hot check or not paying their traffic tickets. Everything these people in this story have said is true. I know from experience.
If you think it is OK to take a boot to the ribs because you ran a red light, OK fine. We'll put you down as one of those people who wants to live in a country where they chop people's hands off or shoplifting or stones women for adultery. But don't ever say that you believe in truth, justice or the American way. Because if you think it is acceptable to treat people like this, you do not believe in justice.
-
Gary Packwood 09/11/2009 4:56:00 AM
The Truth Squad from the Houston Press will eventually get around to learning our jails are little factories that create monsters who really are frightening to all of us.
Mugging jail inmates results in about ten percent of those inmates making the decision to following the straight and narrow but it makes monsters out of the other ninety percent.
Criminal justice scholars have know this for decades.
Keep your Truth Squad after the Harris County Jail leadership and we will enter the twenty first century eventually.
Kicking and screaming but we'll get there.
Jail time is given AS punishment and not FOR punishment.
::
GP
-
David Ross 09/10/2009 6:22:00 AM
I have a modest proposal...
Increase facilities, demand better standards for guards, improve psychiatric evaluation, and generally clean up the jail for all the incoming suspects EXCEPT the scum who say this when they bounce cheques: "I'd do it again".
It's partly because of thieves like her that groceries cost as much as they do.
-
tina 09/09/2009 8:35:00 PM
yes, if you dont like jail, dont do something that will land you there -- i agree ... HOWEVER ... something indeed needs to be done about the conditions of harris county jails and the treatment of the prisoners currently housed there ... we are in AMERICA; and we are all innocent until proven guilty in a court of law .. and even if found guilty in a court of law, we are ENTITLED to be treated with respect and dignity .. plain and simple .. the prisoner is someone's mother, father, daughter, son .. is this how we continue to allow our great country to treat our own? come on; we have standards on how we 'must' treat prisoners of war; where are the same standards of our own? Sheriff Garcia, I voted for you as many others did - please, open your eyes and DO SOMETHING ... not every prisoner is lying!
