Tales from the West Texas Dust

Sometimes a letter comes along that may break your heart. Such is one I received recently:

I have a 21-year-old daughter who has spent time in a Texas penal facility. She was put there because of poor choices on her part. I believe Texas justice should have acted much sooner on the child - then she may have not ended up there.

Plain State Jail is no picnic. It is located about 40 miles from Houston in Dayton, TX. It is hot, muggy, and dank. My daughter was sent there because it was the one of the only women's facilities that accepted pregnant women.

This child has been in trouble since the age of about 10. She was given chance after chance. She was confined at three separate times to treatment facilities for behavior modification - one of them being a 10-month boot camp in East Texas. These were only band aids.

I believe the courts should have done something much sooner. We asked and asked for help...went to court, did everything in our power to make her behave like a rational person - but to no avail.

Instead, my husband was questioned and asked why had we not done a better job. After she used up 2 lifetime insurance benefits and most of our retirement money, she left home for the fifth and final time before she became incarcerated. We were told that because she was three months away from being 18, we as her parents were still liable for $15,000 per occurence for any damage she did. WHERE IS THE JUSTICE???

Thanks for letting me spout off - I needed that!!!

[Name withheld]

From your faithful reporter in the West Texas dust,

Coy Reece Holley

P.S. - In case you may have forgotten, I still have a special contest going on about the Texas criminal justice system. For more details, see the July 7th edition of "Tales from the West Texas Dust". Remember, if you're a member of the Suite, you're eligible to enter. If not, please click on "Join" and take advantage of the benefits of membership here at the Suite that you can get ABSOLUTELY FREE!! Can't beat a deal like that, eh? So join us and send those entries in before the end of the year!!! AND CATCH ME AT THE SUITE - Suite 101.com!!!

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