Think Outside the Cage: Head of Texas Youth Commission Facility Fired

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Monday, April 30, 2007

Head of Texas Youth Commission Facility Fired

HARLINGEN, Texas â€” The superintendent of Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg is being fired amid multiple investigations into alleged inmate abuse at the facility, the Texas Youth Commission said Friday.
Bart Caldwell was notified Thursday night that pre-termination proceedings against have begun, TYC spokesman Jim Hurley said.
Caldwell can appeal the decision, but he is no longer at the high-security facility, Hurley said. He is being replaced by Eduardo Martinez, the superintendent at Giddings State School, another high-security facility.
Caldwell said Friday he had no comment.
State officials on March 16 said they had opened 27 investigations into inmate complaints at Evins. The announcement came a day after a scathing federal report decried "chaotic and dangerous" conditions there. The U.S. Department of Justice investigation found the prison violated youths' constitutional rights with high levels of violence, overcrowding, and an insufficient number of guards.

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