• ALU is a form of a restrictive housing unit, but has no policy that regulates its operation
• 5th, 8th, and 14th Amendment Rights Violation and Human Rights violations
• Cruel and Unusual Punishment
• A form of Solitary Confinement (which was said to have been eliminated as a punitive measure in Texas in 2017)
• An investigation needs to be conducted and ALU needs to be shutdown

There is a housing unit within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) that is not found in TDCJ policy and procedures and is very likely in violation of the Constitutional Rights of those who are housed there. It is called ALU which stands for Alternate Living Unit, or Alternate/Administrative Lock-Up.  It is located at the Coffield Unit in Tennessee Colony, Texas it is the only of its kind that we have been able to find.

It is a very secret area, so much so that in a recent FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request the TDCJ responded by saying they do not have any terminology known as ALU with clear meaning. In fact they said that the term ALU is "ambiguous." However, in a 2021 PREA Audit that was found on the TDCJ website and was conducted at the Coffield Unit, ALU is detailed and abbreviated. It is described as being a housing area that houses offenders who are considered to be "escape risks" and "assaultive." This is very subjective because there is no clearly defined difference between those housed in ALU and those in other restrictive housing; such as, Ad-Seg (Administrative Segregation), RHU (Restrictive Housing Unit), and SHU (Secure Housing Unit/Special Housing Unit). Yet, these other forms of restrictive housing have clearly defined policy and procedures that govern them and ensure oversight. ALU does not have any such policy in place for its running and because it is made to only house 12 people it has easily gone unnoticed and under the radar. The men who have been housed back there have had very little recourse to share their plight and the conditions that they are facing there.

The research that has been done thus far on this housing area has rendered appalling results. From what has been discovered about this unit, the only way out of it once a prisoner has been placed there is through the Director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). Other ways that people have been transferred from there is through self-harm or harming others there; this is not acceptable. The Constitution of the United States of America says that citizens have the right to due process; this right also extends to those who are incarcerated.

When and incident occurs, there is a process in place for how investigations, hearings, and punishment is rendered. When it comes to ALU there is no such policy governing it (at least none that allows for oversight). Because there is no oversight of ALU, there is no assurance that those who are being housed there are not having their rights violated.  Additionally, the 8th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution stipulates that “cruel and unusual punishment” is prohibited. The current residents of ALU do not appear to have incidents that are categorically different from those who are in ad-seg or other restrictive housing.

This housing unit is overrun by vermin, cats, and insects. And just like in ad-seg, the prisoners are made to move cells every 7 days.  Some of the prisoners have been back there so long, with no hope of ever leaving that they have lost touch with reality. They no longer clean up after themselves or their pets that they have acquired from the infested rec yard. One prisoner has been there for 18 years. Someone being confined in the worst form of solitary confinement for over 18 years, with the only way for them to get out of that area is by the Director of TDCJ or to harm themselves or another; is cruel and unusual. Several of the people who were housed in this area determined that their only way of escaping this torment was through suicide. It appears that in 2017 Texas ended solitary confinement, however; not only are there still a multitude of prisoners housed in such conditions around Texas, but in the case of ALU it seems as though they are being treated as “out of sight, out of mind.” But, even worse, most people do not even know that ALU exists so not only is it “out of sight and out of mind,” it is in violation of various laws and TDCJ’s own policy and procedures.

ALU has been used as a form of pre-hearing detention, where a person could be sent there before there is a hearing to "send" them there. When pre-hearing detention is done in this way, it cuts out the required oversight and regulations that govern it. It is safe to say that a place that does not have any policies governing how one is placed in ALU is not being run in a legal and orderly manner.

In light of recent news events, this situation has now become a crisis, because it proves that ALU is not being used for what it was supposedly created for. According to news reports about the escaped inmate Gonzalo Lopez, the TDCJ stated to reporters that Lopez had previous attempts to get away from law enforcement. Additionally, Lopez's violent history establishes an assaultive pattern in his behavior, yet he was not placed in ALU. If he had been placed in ALU then the escape and subsequent murders of 5 members of a family would not have happened last month. Thus, ALU is not doing what it was supposedly designed to do and needs to be shut down immediately. It is appalling to discover that if ALU was doing what it was setup to do all of this could have been prevented because TDCJ has a "secret" prison, supposedly designed to house men with histories like Lopez's.

An emergency investigation should be conducted on ALU and once it is found to be in violation of the constitutional rights of those incarcerated there, then it should be shut down and they should be immediately released from that area, and proper psychological health treatment administered to them!

Thank you for taking time to read this petition, please sign it if it is something you would like to show your support for, and we will keep you updated on its progress. Let's not waste anymore taxpayer dollars on ALU.