United Nations Petitions for Humane Treatment in Texas Prisons, Inhumane Feeding Practices

By the first National Lawyers Guild – Prison Chapter

Members of the first Prison Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) have created a series of four petitions that they have called Project Blitz. The Prison Chapter is submitting the petitions to the United Nations Human Rights Council concerning inhumane treatment in Texas Department of Criminal Justice prisons. The NLG – Prison Chapter, as per NLG communications, is

a collective of jailhouse lawyers, writ writers, and incarcerated paralegals with the common goal of challenging the systemic abuses and inhumane conditions of the Texas prison industrial complex. We endeavor to raise awareness of the injustices forced upon incarcerated people and advocate the cost-saving and social benefits of alternatives to incarceration. We believe that mass litigation coupled with solidarity action is the most effective and efficient way to challenge mass incarceration from within. We are dedicated to meaningful litigation that demands accountability and active resolution to the on-going inhumane and unconstitutional conditions within Texas prisons.

Below is a scan of the petition concerning problems with the amount and types of food provided for incarcerated persons in Texas prisons. The meals are often nutritionally insufficient, lack variety, and may include rotten or spoiled food. The petition mentions manipulation of documentation by kitchen staff to cover up the issues. TPI’s complaints have also shown that TDCJ often only addresses complaints about food quality and quantity by quoting policy instead of investigating practices, and by claiming that because food equating a certain amount of calories is sent to each unit, that proves sufficient calories are provided to the incarcerated persons. That is quite a stretch.