Handshakes, murals and ministry: A reopened Texas prison focuses on rehabilitation

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After spending decades as a Texas prison inmate, Arnulfo Ayala flinched last month when a captain at the newly reopened Bartlett Unit extended an arm to shake the confessed killer’s hand.

The professional gesture felt unfamiliar to Ayala, who’s grown accustomed to waking up to the sound of corrections officers yelling at him and calling him inmate number 936516.

But at Bartlett — the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s newest prison — everything has seemed different. The food is tastier. The dorms are brighter and roomier. The walls are painted with colorful murals. And Ayala’s ideas for innovative programs to help fellow inmates prepare for life outside of prison are taken seriously.

Ayala confessed to killing Raul Marin and in 2000 was sentenced to 35 years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty to murder, according to the San Antonio Express-News. Ayala is scheduled to be released in 2034, unless he is paroled earlier. He was turned down for parole in 2021.

“Back in the day, when you’d go to prison, you were more likely to get worse there,” said Ayala. “You delved into the negative environment, and when you went back into the world, you corrupted your community. With units like this, we have the opportunity to reverse that.”

The Bartlett facility reflects one piece of TDCJ’s so-called “2030 Vision,” an ambitious effort to refocus the state’s massive prison system on rehabilitation rather than punishment. The agency hopes that by 2030, 95% of inmates have jobs lined up prior to their release and the life skills they need to avoid another prison sentence. This year, 24% of inmates had jobs before their release.

The plan also aims to improve abysmal prison staffing levels by creating career counseling programs and establishing a more positive work-life balance for employees.

Re-opened in October, Bartlett will eventually house 1,049 male inmates, most of whom will be in the last year of their sentence, preparing to reenter the free world. The prison sits about an hour north of Austin on 60 acres of land in Williamson County. Bartlett’s dorm-style housing is designed to be more comfortable than the typical prison cell, with comfortable couches and 55-inch televisions in the common areas.

A portion of housing is reserved for military veterans at all stages of their sentence who will participate in special programming, such one where they prepare shelter dogs for adoption.

Inmates will enroll in courses according to their interest. Options include culinary arts, computer programming and electrical lineman training, and each offer certifications that will help inmates land jobs. They’ll also receive interview preparation, resume reviews and financial literacy training with the hope that they’ll secure a job before they leave prison.

Bartlett was previously a privately operated men’s prison, but it shuttered in 2017 due to declining inmate populations. Since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, Texas’ inmate population has steadily increased, and it is slated to continue rising over the next decade.

Bartlett’s reopening also comes as the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission is reviewing the operations of the state’s criminal justice system. In a September report, the Sunset Commission, which routinely reviews the performance of state agencies and identifies problems within them, found the prison system has a dangerous staffing crisis, outdated record-keeping practices and a lack of oversight on rehabilitation programs as key issues affecting the agency.

Department leaders have presented the 2030 plan as one way to address some of those shortcomings.

“We recognize that we need a culture shift,” said agency spokesperson Amanda Hernandez. “We are here to do that and make it happen.”

Renewed focus on rehabilitation

For decades, the Texas prison system’s guiding philosophy has shifted back and forth between punishment and rehabilitation depending on the political climate and how high crime rates are.

During the tough-on-crime era of the 1980s, Texas built more prisons and took a punitive approach to crime. But a class-action lawsuit resulted in a judge finding that the conditions of confinement violated the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The ruling required the state to reduce overcrowding and improve prisoner rehabilitation and recreational programs.

In 1989, the Legislature passed a comprehensive criminal justice bill that expanded the state agency’s responsibility to include administering rehabilitation programs and reintegrating former felons back into society.

The 1989 legislation created the modern-day Texas Department of Criminal Justice by merging the Department of Corrections, the Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Texas Adult Probation Commission.

In the 2006 sunset commission’s review of TDCJ, the agency found that TDCJ needed more significant investment from the state to improve recidivism rates and effectively rehabilitate former felons. The following year, the state invested $241 million on rehabilitation and diversion programs instead of spending money on additional prison beds. As a result, recidivism rates fell by more than 6%.

“You go through different cycles,” said Marc Levin, chief policy counsel on the Council on Criminal Justice. “[Gov.] Ann Richards put in all these substance abuse facilities because drug treatment was a big priority. Then there was a change in attitudes and in 2003 there was a recession, so money was cut for treatment.”

Levin said that in recent years, there has been bipartisan support for rehabilitation. And the nationwide labor shortage following the COVID-19 pandemic makes former inmates an attractive talent pool as well.

At Bartlett, employers will come in for job fairs, and inmates will also participate in job interviews through Zoom. The state partners with about 1,110 employers who are open to hiring former felons.

“The idea is to pilot these programs, see what is working, how do we fix it and expand it to other units,” Hernandez said.

Preparing for reentry

On the day of their release from Bartlett, inmates will don a new suit to mark the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. They’ll ring a liberty bell in front of their fellow inmates before they step out of the prison.

To make the transition easier, inmates will serve as peer educators, offer additional support, helping their fellow inmates learn communication skills that they will need in any workplace.

Field ministers will offer emotional and spiritual support to inmates and help them reconnect with their values.

“One of the greatest things I heard when I got here was hope,” said Michael Thorne, an inmate who also serves as a field minister. “The church here is named Chapel of Hope to help others prepare for their exit.”

Michele Deitch, a senior lecturer at University of Texas at Austin’s School of Law and LBJ School, said that creating more comfortable living conditions has been found to decrease violence and improve employee retention.

“I really hope the change in mindset will reverberate throughout the agency,” Deitch said. “It’s something that will achieve better public safety outcomes and personal outcomes for people who are incarcerated.”

TDCJ officials said they will also look to hire former inmates to work inside the prison as officers or case managers. Several inmates in Bartlett said they would like to return upon their release. Ayala said he hopes to return to prison as a case manager.

“I’ve been in here almost half my life,” Ayala said. “I know the potential that’s behind these walls. A lot of people don’t know how to reach that potential.”

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