Lawmakers offer stark choices for ending the crisis in Texas’ youth prisons — shut them all down, or build more

State Rep. James Talarico, D-Round Rock, speaks at a press conference at the Texas Capitol on Thursday to support his bill to close juvenile prisons. Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune

Long entrenched in a continuous string of scandals over child abuse and mistreatment, Texas’ youth prison system is broken beyond repair and should be shut down, according to a state lawmaker. In a dramatic proposal Thursday, state Rep. James Talarico announced legislation asking his colleagues to close the state’s five juvenile prisons and dismantle the agency that runs them by 2030.

Read the rest of this story from the Texas Tribune.