Community rallies around conflicted youth jail

[Joanne98]

Source: News Channel 5

Community rallies around conflicted youth jail
Wednesday , March 28, 2007

MONAHANS (AP) - Local leaders rallied around the youth jail at the center of a scandal over sex abuse in the state youth prison system, saying they fear the jail could be unfairly targeted for closure.

Participants said Tuesday's rally at the Ward County Courthouse was the beginning of their defense of the West Texas State School in nearby Pyote. Jail employees and local leaders also planned a Wednesday trip to Austin to speak to lawmakers deliberating the future of the Texas Youth Commission.

"Behind the politics, there are real people, and real families are behind the decisions they make," said Ward County Judge Greg Holly. He said he would show legislators thank-you letters sent from former Pyote inmates to staff members.

Allegations of sexual abuse of inmates by two former officials at the 250-inmate all-male facility in Pyote sparked a continuing overhaul of the Texas Youth Commission, which houses the state's worst juvenile offenders.


Read more: http://www.newschannel5.tv/News/Other/6393/Community-rallies-around-conflicted-youth-jail

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