Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · Sep 2

As I told @keribla.bsky.social, “You simply can't operate a safe facility with that many staff positions vacant…Supervision checks are left undone; staff don't want to intervene in incidents b/c there is no backup; & lockdowns are more frequent b/c staff are not available to take ppl to programs.”

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · Sep 2

Four deaths in two weeks: What’s behind the surge in violence at one Texas prison

www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investi...

Texas prison violence hits 10-year high. Is a drug crackdown making it worse?

Texas prison violence reached its highest level in at least a decade, prompting a monthslong lockdown in 19 lockups this summer.

www.houstonchronicle.com

1 8 7

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · Jul 31

So glad to have finally met you in person—and on the date of this pivotal change in your career, Yvonne! Sending all good wishes your way on your new journey.

1 1

Reposted by Michele Deitch

Prison Journalism Project @prisonjournalism.bsky.social · Jul 29

The Progressive Scandinavian Prison Model Comes to an Idaho Prison.

The Progressive Scandinavian Prison Model Comes to an Idaho Prison

Idaho Prison administration traveled overseas and brought back a new plan for state prisons.

prisonjournalismproject.org

43 130

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · Jul 24

Important explainer about investigations of deaths behind bars in Ohio.

Brittany Hailer @brittanyhailer.bsky.social · Jul 24

I wrote about the steps local, state and federal agencies are supposed to take when someone dies in a jail in Ohio.

We also included what records in those investigations should be available to the public.

www.themarshallproject.org/2025/07/24/c...

What Happens When Someone Dies in an Ohio Jail

In Cuyahoga County, a jail death triggers mandatory investigations. Here’s what all Ohio sheriffs are supposed to do, and how to check their work.

www.themarshallproject.org

1 1 1

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · Jul 16

And so glad that @keribla.bsky.social is back to stay on top of developments like this!

1

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · Jul 16

No shackles, no cuffs: Texas death row loosens solitary confinement for first time in years. Kudos to @tdcj.bsky.social for this new initiative.

www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investi...

Texas is trying a new kind of death row – one with a sense of community

A new program in the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, allows death row prisoners to mingle outside of solitary confinement.

www.houstonchronicle.com

2 13 40

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · Jul 14

This is so shocking and sad—what an untimely passing of a very good man. I was his student and briefly his research assistant, and he was a friend of my husband’s who was in our wedding party. What a legacy he leaves behind. RIP.

2

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · Jul 1

If you want to know more abt this issue, check out the Proceedings from last year’s Deaths in Custody conference organized by the Prison and Jail Innovation Lab @pjil.bsky.social : pjil.lbj.utexas.edu/events/death...

Reposted by Michele Deitch

Hernandez D. Stroud @stroud.bsky.social · May 28

To learn more about correctional oversight, consider @micheledeitch.bsky.social's wonderful resource: prisonoversight.org

Home - NRCCO

Making prisons and jails transparent and accountable. A one-stop shop to learn what correctional oversight looks like and how to[...]

prisonoversight.org

1 3

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · May 15

@pjil.bsky.social

1

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · May 15

Reminder: kids in adult prisons are especially vulnerable to physical & psychological risks. They face high rates of sexual assault if mixed in w/ adults, & high rates of suicide & MH issues if isolated. Adult prisons are the WORST place for them. Much higher recidivism, too.

1 2

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · May 15

Yes, kids need to be held accountable for violent behavior against staff, but this isn’t the way to do it. We need to be asking Qs abt why violence is occurring. Lack of MH treatment or programs? Boredom? Lack of supervision? Response to staff mistreatment? Address THOSE factors.

1

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · May 15

And cutting off advocates’ access to youth prisons is pretty clearly in retaliation for them reporting abuses of youth to the DOJ. This is happening at a time when our youth prisons need MORE transparency and oversight, not less.

1 1

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · May 15

The one thing that we know doesn’t work with them is treating them in ways that are purely punitive. Kids aren’t thinking about the consequences of their actions. These harsher sentences won’t be a deterrent.

1 1

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · May 15

The bills are trying to make things much harsher for kids, punishing them for the failures of the system to address their underlying needs. These are 15 & 16 yo kids with very serious needs for mental health treatment & other social services.

1

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · May 15

The bills will lead to worse outcomes for youth, compromising public safety. All the bills are doing is isolating & punishing youth who are at risk, & making them vulnerable to further abuses.

1

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · May 15

I was on
@TexasStandard today talking about two bad juv justice bills working their way through #TXLege. One bill would send more young kids to adult prisons; the other cuts off advocates’ access to juv facilities. They roll back 18 yrs of reforms.

www.texasstandard.org/stories/texa...

Texas lawmakers are considering a law that would make it easier for minors to go to adult prisons

Experts worry this punishment will lead to worse outcomes for kids who are transferred to adult facilities.

www.texasstandard.org

1 3

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · May 5

I guess the pendulum has swung from “Little Scandinavia” to “Little El Salvador”…

wapo.st/3F26ID7

Trump says he will reopen Alcatraz as a federal prison

Trump ordered multiple agencies to rebuild the penitentiary, which was closed in 1963 over high operating costs and has been a tourist spot for decades.

wapo.st

1 3

Reposted by Michele Deitch

Bolts @boltsmag.org · Apr 30

Even if they rarely lead to consequences for staff, outside investigations into deaths in jails often still document information that families need to pursue wrongful death lawsuits or uncover evidence that contradicts jailers’ account of what happened. boltsmag.org/texas-j...

Officials Play “Accountability Ping Pong” With Jail Deaths in Texas

A bipartisan push for more oversight comes after a sheriff flouted state law mandating independent investigations of jail deaths.

boltsmag.org

17 42

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · Apr 26

“Without an independent investigation, the public and policymakers would never know that the so-called ‘natural death’ was attributable to something jail staff did or didn’t do, and there would be no guidance as to how such deaths could be prevented in the future.”—Michele Deitch

Bolts @boltsmag.org · Apr 26

A 40-year-old man died from dehydration in 2022 after being detained for more than two months inside the Tarrant County jail, one of at least three people with documented mental illness to die of thirst in the jail’s custody in recent years. boltsmag.org/texas-j...

Officials Play “Accountability Ping Pong” With Jail Deaths in Texas

A bipartisan push for more oversight comes after a sheriff flouted state law mandating independent investigations of jail deaths.

boltsmag.org

1

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · Apr 22

Just because a jail death is “natural” doesn’t mean “there is nothing to see here,” as some jail officials would have you believe. EVERY jail death should be independently investigated.

Michael Barajas @michaelbarajas.bsky.social · Apr 22

an infuriating story here by @sophienovack.bsky.social on TX officials dodging responsibility for their years-long failure to follow the Sandra Bland Act, a law mandating outside investigations of jail deaths so that sheriffs don’t investigate themselves

boltsmag.org/texas-jail-d...

Officials Play “Accountability Ping Pong” With Jail Deaths in Texas - Bolts

A bipartisan push for jail oversight comes after a North Texas sheriff flouted state law mandating independent investigations of deaths on his watch.

boltsmag.org

3 7

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · Mar 29

"The State Commission on Correction looks really good on paper, but it doesn't do most of the things that it says it does." --Michele Deitch, #PrisonandJailInnovationLab

As Deaths Mount in New York Jails & Prisons, Advocates Rally for Oversight @nysfocus.bksy.social

nysfocus.com/2025/03/29/s...

Advocates Rally as Deaths Mount in New York Jails and Prisons

They want to beef up the powerful but little-known State Commission of Correction.

nysfocus.com

Michele Deitch @micheledeitch.bsky.social · Feb 28

Galveston Sheriff trying to be the next Sheriff Joe, apparently.

www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/new...

Galveston County Jail issues pink jumpsuits to discourage recidivism; expert doubts effectiveness | Houston Public Media

The county south of Houston is replacing its green inmate uniforms with "safety pink" in an attempt to discourage recidivism, enhance visibility for corrections officers and create a “calming atmosphe...

www.houstonpublicmedia.org

Reposted by Michele Deitch

Just City @justcity901.bsky.social · Feb 10

Four people have died in the Shelby Co Jail in the last two weeks. That's nothing new for this facility and its leadership.

In 2023, we explored this topic with @micheledeitch.bsky.social, a leading expert on in-custody deaths, in Ep. 54 of The Permanent Record. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

The Permanent Record

Government Podcast · 62 Episodes · Updated Monthly

podcasts.apple.com

1 1 2