Coronavirus: TDCJ To Halt Intake of Inmates Housed In County Jails

ABILENE, TX – Coronavirus continues to impact the operational structure of organizations, including county jails and state prisons. While jails in other states have opted to release inmates, the Robertson and Middleton units in Abilene have announced they will not be accepting inmates from any county jail.

According to KTXS, the Executive Director of Texas Department of Criminal Justice the TDCJ will “halt all intake of inmates from county jails effective Monday."

In a letter sent to all sheriff’s TDCJ facilities are experiencing an increase in coronavirus cases. As of Saturday, 72 employees had tested positive for COVID-19, include a maintenance supervisor at the Robertson Unit. There are currently 167 TDCJ inmates that have tested positive for the virus.

"Correctional systems across the country find themselves in a similar situation in which they are battling a faceless enemy that does not discriminate between jurisdictions," said Collier. "Halting the intake of new inmates will allow the TDCJ to fight this virus without further exposing both county and state inmates."

The decision is expected to add strain county jails, but the measures are deemed necessary to stop the spread of the virus within the jail system. There are at least 10 county jails that have confirmed coronavirus cases.

Under normal circumstances, the TDCJ has 45 days to take custody of inmates sentenced to prison time, but the statue was waived by Governor Abbott during the pandemic.