The Drag Podcast Features TJP
November 1, 2024
In two podcast episodes, The Drag covers the story of Fred Harris, a mentally ill teenager, who was arrested and then killed while he was in jail. Episode one tells…
Topics: 2024news, Cash Bail, Custody Death, Mental Health, Overcrowding
Harris County
In two podcast episodes, The Drag covers the story of Fred Harris, a mentally ill teenager, who was arrested and then killed while he was in jail. Episode one tells the story of what happened to Fred and episode two takes a look at the carceral system more generally.
The justice system failed my son in entirety.
The second episode features Texas Jail Project Executive Director, Krishnaveni Gundu. As part of our narrative shift work, she talks about the way jails in Texas, and particularly Harris County Jail, have opted to “ship people out” to other counties and even other states instead of depopulating the jails. County jails will cite understaffing as justification for outsourcing their services to places that don’t have the same oversight that local jails do in Texas.
Krish touches on other topics including our bail reform work, as well as the challenges we have faced at the state level, when it comes to bail reform. She also talks about alternatives to incarcerating people with mental illness.
We are over-incarcerating because we have criminalized homelessness. We have criminalized mental illness. We have criminalized disabilities. We have criminalized reproductive rights. We are criminalizing protesting now… When we frame it as an overcrowding and understaffing issue, we miss the opportunity to really understand and talk about over-incarceration… The county jail system is – everyone admits it – that it is the largest confiner of people with mental illness in the state of Texas. Harris County Jail is the largest confiner of people with mental illness in the state of Texas, not a state hospital, not some sort of psychiatric institution, but a county jail.
“If we are really, truly serious about public safety, we would be robustly investing in public health systems, in equitable public health systems. We would be expanding medicaid… We would be investing in equitable access to affordable and stable housing… flood control, pollution control, especially in Harris County. All these things that are evidence-based that keep our communities safer. You know, expanding library hours, parks, lights, public transportation…”
Give the podcast a listen to hear more.
Part two on Drag Audio